Aston Villa travel to the East Midlands to take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, and Paul Merson believes that Ollie Watkins should start over Jhon Duran at the City Ground, and that he should continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Duran was finally given his first Premier League start of the season last weekend against Southampton, and he repaid the faith shown in him by Unai Emery, by scoring the game's only goal. The strike was his ninth of the season in all competitions, and he added a tenth to his tally in midweek against RB Leipzig as a substitute, after being dropped to the bench again.
In comparison, Watkins has scored just seven goals this season and has struggled at times, prompting calls for Duran to displace the Englishman, amid fears that the Colombian may push for an exit if Emery continues to sideline him. However, Merson thinks Watkins should retain his place in the starting eleven, due to his inability to influence proceedings off the bench.
Watkins hasn't impressed as a substitute
After netting 27 times in all competitions last season, Watkins appeared to be indispensable to Villa at the start of the season. However, Duran's emergence as a reliable goalscorer and his ability to find the back of the net in high leverage moments with spectacular efforts, has certainly created some doubt over his counterpart's position in the team.
While Emery will be delighted to have two excellent strikers of this calibre in his squad for the time being, the Spaniard will be aware that this situation isn't sustainable, with one of them likely to be left unhappy with their playing time.
Writing in his Premier League predictions for this weekend for Sportskeeda, Merson claimed that Watkins should continue to get the nod over Duran:
"Personally, I would still prefer to use Ollie Watkins as a starter in this Villa side. It's simply because he doesn't have the same impact as Jhon Duran while coming off the bench. He came off the bench against Southampton and did not leave a great impression, looking slightly lackadaisical up front. Duran, on the other hand, has been excellent off the bench and I want him to play that role again."
GMS sources revealed back in October that West Ham have retained their interest in Duran, and could move for him in an upcoming window, possibly alerting Emery that he must grant the red-hot striker more opportunities at Villa Park.
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