Aston Villa are currently competing to secure Champions League football for the 2024/25 campaign as they sit fourth in the Premier League table.
The Villans are three points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who have one game in hand over Unai Emery's men, with nine games left to play before the end of the season.
Qualifying for Europe's premier cup competition could help the club to retain their best players, as they would be able to offer Champions League and Premier League football.
The likes of Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins could, therefore, be convinced to stay, unlike when they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a whopping £100m.
Villa have had to sell many stars in the past but they have not always lived to regret their decision, as was the case with the sale of Stewart Downing, who went on to flop after his exit from Birmingham.
If you adjust for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the years, the 2011 Villans whiz was sold for more than Watkins is currently valued at.
Ollie Watkins' current market valuation
At the time of writing (22/03/2024), FootballTransfers has his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €50m (£43m), which is more than the £33m deal they agreed with Brentford to sign him in the summer of 2020.
The English forward hit the ground running in the Premier League with a return of 14 goals and five assists in 37 top-flight matches during the 2020/21 campaign.
Watkins went on to hit double figures for goals – 11 and 15 – each of the following two seasons in the league, and is currently enjoying his best year in front of goal in claret and blue.
Appearances
29
Sofascore rating
7.37
Goals
16
Assists
10
Big chances created
9
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old star has already hit 16 goals for the season in the Premier League, which is the highest of his career so far with nine games left to play, to go along with ten assists.
Watkins has scored those 16 goals from an xG (Expected Goals) of 14.43, which shows that the England international has been an above-average finisher given the quality of chances that have come his way.
The former Brentford whiz has racked up 22 goals and ten assists in 41 appearances in all competitions for the Villans, including six goals in eight Europa Conference League games.
These statistics show that the Villa forward has been a consistent and reliable threat for Emery at the top end of the pitch, with his ability to constantly cause problems for opposition defences as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a centre-forward position.
It now remains to be seen whether or not any clubs will want to swoop in to sign the impressive attacker during the upcoming summer transfer window, and if the Villans will be able to keep hold of him should any teams come knocking.
Back in the summer of 2011, Villa did cash in on one of their star players for a significant fee – worth more in 2024 money than Watkins is now – when they sold Stewart Downing to Liverpool.
How much Liverpool paid for Stewart Downing in 2024 money
The Premier League giants – per Totally Money – paid £20.5m to sign the left-footed wizard from the Villans ahead of the 2011/12 campaign.
As per Totally Money's index, that £20.5m would be worth a staggering £54.5m in 2024 money when you adjust for the inflation of transfer fees over the subsequent years – £11.5m more than the £43m Watkins is currently valued at.
Liverpool made their move to sign Downing after he enjoyed two seasons at Villa Park, after his move to the club from Middlesbrough in 2009.
He had an underwhelming debut campaign with the Villans with a return of just two goals and one assist in 25 Premier League appearances during the 2009/10 season.
Appearances
38
Goals
7
Assists
7
WhoScored rating
7.18
Key passes per game
2.2
As you can see in the table above, the English magician stepped up his game in his second year with the club as he showcased his ability to score and assist goals from a wide position.
Downing won the club's Player of the Season award for his efforts that term and manager Alex McLeish stated that he – and the club – did not want to sell the forward in the summer of 2011, after the Villans had rejected a £15m bid from the Reds.
However, Liverpool were eventually able to secure his services for a fee of £20.5m – £54.5m in today's market – and it turned out that Villa struck gold with that deal, as he went on to struggle at Anfield.
Stewart Downing's post-Villa struggles
McLeish and Aston Villa may look back on the decision to sell Downing when they did as a blinder as his form post-2011 for the Reds suggests that they hit the jackpot by selling when they did.
After his return of 14 goal contributions in 38 Premier League matches – one every other game on average – during the 2010/11 campaign, Liverpool may have expected a similar output on Merseyside.
Instead, the left winger – staggeringly – did not contribute with a single goal or assist during his first league season with Liverpool. He made 36 appearances and started 28 times for Liverpool but ended the term with zero goals and zero assists.
That was followed by three goals and five assists in 29 league outings for the Reds throughout the 2012/13 campaign, which took his tally to three goals and five assists in 65 top-flight appearances.
Liverpool then decided to cut their losses on the big-money flop as they sold him to West Ham United in the summer of 2013 – two years on from his move from Villa.
Per Totally Money, the Hammers paid £5.2m to sign Downing from the Reds, and that fee would be worth £9.5m in the current day, which is significantly less than the £54.5m his initial move to Anfield would have been worth in 2024.
This shows that the Villans struck gold in the summer of 2011 as they cashed in on the winger before his form on the pitch and value off it plummeted.