Aston Villa are in perfect shape to replicate their impressive fourth-place finish in the Premier League during the upcoming season.
Unai Emery has used all his pulling power to lure players such as Ian Maatsen and Amadou Onana to the Midlands as Champions League football graces Villa Park next term.
With a month left of the current transfer window, could Emery pull off yet another excellent transfer in the coming days as he continues to improve his squad?
Aston Villa's search for a striker
According to Italian outlet Il Mattino (via Calcio Napoli 24), Villa have reportedly reached an agreement with Chelsea with regard to signing striker Romelu Lukaku.
Napoli look like the frontrunners. However, they have yet to agree a fee with the Blues, it is clear that Serie A is the destination which Lukaku looks set on.
Could the Spaniard perhaps offer the Belgian centre-forward a lucrative financial package to make the move to the Midlands? With Champions League football on offer at Villa next season, may this be enough to secure his services in the coming weeks?
If so, Emery could land an upgrade on Ollie Watkins in the process.
Romelu Lukaku’s season in numbers
That previous statement may sound a tad incredulous given how well Watkins performed last season for Villa.
Across 53 matches in all competitions, the Englishman scored 27 goals while chipping in with 13 assists, certainly justifying his call-up to the England Euro 2024 squad.
Metric
Premier League
Conference League
Goals
19
5
Assists
13
0
Shots on target per game
1.3
0.9
Big chances created
11
0
Key passes per game
1.2
0.9
Successful dribbles per game
0.7
0.5
Despite his wonderful campaign in front of goal, this was only the second season in which Watkins has scored over 15 goals in a single league campaign.
Lukaku was shipped out on loan to AS Roma for the 2023/24 season, spending yet another temporary spell outside of London.
He found the back of the net 21 times, while registering four assists. While these tallies aren’t as good as Watkins, Lukaku has been extremely consistent across his entire campaign.
In his previous three Serie A campaigns, Lukaku managed to score a total of 57 goals, showcasing his class in one of the most difficult leagues in Europe.
The £325k-per-week striker ranked in the top 9% for goals per shot (0.2), while also ranking in the top 18% for shot on target percentage (42.2%) per 90 in Serie A last season.
In comparison, Watkins only ranked in the top 33% for goals per shot (0.18) along with ranking in the top 40% for shot on target percentage (43.9%) per 90 in the Premier League.
Hailed as a “machine” by writer Alex Barker in 2022, Lukaku would certainly score plenty of goals in the Premier League for Villa should he make the move this summer.
Indeed, across 278 English top flight games in his career, the Belgian has scored 121 goals, which works out as a goal every 2.3 games, a solid strike rate – with his record across his previous five Premier League seasons nothing to be sniffed at…
With plenty of experience in the Champions League too – 41 games and 18 goals – Lukaku could be an ideal signing for Emery this summer.
Contact made: Aston Villa target Watkins 2.0 in £50k-p/w star
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1 ByConnor HoldenAug 2, 2024
