Liverpool, Aston Villa stars backed to ‘explode’ as Prem duo have ‘more ability than they actually show’
Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins have been backed to “explode” by former Premier League striker Michael Owen.
The Reds paid an initial fee of around £64m to sign Nunez from Benfica during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Nunez has produced flashes of brilliance during his time in the Premier League but he has been criticised by some over his inconsistency.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant start to this campaign. He has grabbed four goals and four assists in his eleven appearances across all competitions so he is setting himself up for a standout season for Liverpool, who have already earned ten points from behind this term.
Watkins meanwhile has emerged as one of the best strikers in the Premier League and he is loving life under Unai Emery at Aston Villa.
The Villans are emerging as a shock candidate for the Champions League places and Watkins has been involved in ten goals in nine league games this term.
Owen has indicated that he always “thought they could explode” as they have “much more ability” than they have previously shown.
“I always thought he has had it in him,” Owen said on Premier League Productions. “I have said for a long time. I think there are two players in the Premier League that have so much more ability than they actually show.
“Ollie Watkins being one. I think Darwin Nunez at Liverpool is the other one.
“Both of those players, a year or so ago, I thought they could explode into being one of the very best in the Premier League.
“I think this fella (Watkins) now is making huge strides to becoming that type of player.”
Watkins is being linked with a move to Arsenal and he admitted a couple of years ago that it’s his “dream” to play for the London outfit.
“That’s the dream to play for Arsenal one day. But it’s a long shot,” Watkins said in 2020.
“It’s only because my family support them and stuff like that. But that’s a long-term [goal].”
When asked whether Arsenal should sign Watkins or Ivan Toney, former Premier League defender Mikael Silvestre told GGRecon: “The team always needs healthy competition and it needs quality.
“So if Arsenal were to sign another striker in the near future, then it would be Watkins over Toney if the decision was up to me.
“Right now you have Eddie Nketiah at the club alongside Gabriel Jesus, but signing a third striker could present them with a luxury that could be useful at this level. Especially when you consider the amount of games that Arsenal could potentially play this season.”
READ MORE: Spurs replace Arsenal as TV champions after already being picked most often by Sky and TNT
