da bet esporte： Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has enjoyed a fantastic first season with the club and remains in contention to secure a place in Europe by the end of the month.
da mrbet： The Villans are currently eighth in the table and only behind Tottenham Hotspur in seventh on goal difference with two matches left to play.
Emery has won 14 of his 23 Premier League games in charge of the club since arriving from Villarreal to take over from Steven Gerrard with the Spaniard having engineered a seriously impressive revival.
One of his biggest achievements so far has been the wonders he has worked with centre-forward Ollie Watkins, who has been in phenomenal form.
Prior to Emery coming in, the England international had scored two goals and provided two assists in 14 matches in all competitions for Villa. Since then, the 27-year-old has racked up 13 goals and four assists in 24 appearances – more than one goal contribution every other game.
Watkins' terrific turn in form shows that the Villans head coach knows how to get the best out of a mobile striker who enjoys getting in behind by using his pace on the shoulder of the last defender.
Who could be Emery's next Villa striker?
Emery could now unearth his next version of the former Brentford man by securing a deal to sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic this summer.
Football Insider recently reported that the club are interested in a deal to sign the Serbian at the end of the season as they attempt to bolster their forward department.
The £220k-per-week centre-forward has scored ten goals and provided two assists in 21 Serie A starts for the Old Lady in the 2022/23 campaign.
This comes after the 23-year-old plundered 24 goals and three assists in 33 starts in the Italian top-flight for Fiorentina and Juventus combined last term.
FBref coincidentally lists Watkins as the most similar player in world football to Vlahovic based on their respective statistics over the last 365 days. Both strikers accumulate between 0.40 and 0.42 non-penalty expected goals and between 0.11 and 0.12 expected assisted goals per 90.
These statistics show that both attackers offer a similar level of threat in their positioning to create chances for themselves and their creativity for their teammates in the final third. Like the Villa star, the Serbian marksman has proven himself in front of goal and could be a prolific frontman for the club in the years to come, using Emery's expertise in offensive play to better his and Villa's attack.
Vlahovic, who journalist Carlo Garganese described as "scary" and a "monster", has showcased his potential to be a lethal goalscorer at the top level, with his 24 strikes in 2021/22, and Emery's coaching – given his work with Watkins – could get him back to that standard next season.