Coming off a stellar season where he was a top FPL forward, Ollie Watkins was a staple in many FPL template teams due to his 24 goal and assist returns. Despite a strong preseason, his disappointing start to the new campaign has many managers questioning his place in their squads. The question is, with his value dropping and a lack of points, is it time to sell him or is he a player you should hold onto for the long term?
Currently owned by 22% of managers, the Villa man was brought in for his favourable fixture run for the start of the season but has so far come away with 0 returns. He is currently the fifth most sold player in FPL with over 300,000 transfers out. Here is the case for selling or keeping him:
The Case for Keeping Watkins
- Consistency: Watkins has consistently been one of the top-scoring forwards in FPL. In the 2023/24 season, he was a massive FPL asset, with 19 goals and 13 assists, securing him the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award. He followed that up with a strong 2024/25 campaign, with 16 goals and 8 assists, earning 186 FPL points.
- Favourable Fixture Runs: The FPL fixture calendar is a critical factor in a player’s value. Sunderland and Burnley in his next 5 matches are fixtures to target and arguably even a captaincy choice.
The Case for Selling Watkins
- Price: Watkins is not a budget forward. At £9.0m he is the third most expensive forward in the game after Haaland and Isak. Not to mention at the same price Gyökeres is the talisman for Arsenal and will most likely be on penalties in Saka’s absence. He has not delivered so far and this Villa team so far looks sluggish.
- European Fixtures: Aston Villa will take part in this season’s Europa league narrowingly missing out on the Champions League, this is a competition that Unai Emery loves, winning the trophy 4 times. The league phase is set to start in September and could see Emery favouring this competition over the Premier League if Villa do not pick up their form.
- Alternatives: There have been many strikers that are looking better around this price point. Ekitiké looks fantastic and leads the line for Liverpool, Richarlison has seem to have picked up his form and arguably has a better fixture run than Watkins. Chris Wood looks like the best alternative with great fixtures, playing more a much better Nottingham Forest side and on penalty duties.
It all depends on fixtures vs form, with Wood you can be safe as even though they have Kalimuendo as another option, he will most likely allow Wood to rest during cup and Europa league games. Kalimuendo was also subbed on for Dan Ndoye instead of Chris Wood in the palace fixture.
I would say that this week Wood will outscore Watkins as he is home to a West Ham side that just lost 3-2 to Wolves in their carabao cup match last night, whereas Watkins faces a great defensive unit in Crystal Palace. Depends on you, after this week there is the international break and allows you to assess other transfers you might need to make. Personally i would move to Wood as long as there are no other fires that need to be dealt within your team.
