Pundit gives firm one-word response to bold Aston Villa striker switch suggestion

It’s the question on the minds of Aston Villa fans across the globe - should Unai Emery drop Ollie Watkins from his starting lineup in favour of the in-form Jhon Duran?

According to former Wolves and West Brom player Don Goodman, he should not. Instead, the 58 year old would rather see the Spaniard alter his system to allow both strikers to play. If this is not possible, then he thinks Duran should simply wait ‘for his chance’.

Speaking with Villa News, Goodman said: “I was listening to Unai Emery discussing Jhon Duran previously. He was very quick to praise the player’s attitude. If you’re a striker and there’s one place up for grabs, and the striker playing in your place is scoring goals, then he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

“If there’s a way Emery can play Watkins and Duran from the start, I’m sure he’d have explored it by now. Ollie looked tired early in the season but then got his goals and he’s an absolute handful.

“If it is a question is whether Duran should start ahead of Watkins then the answer is no. If the question is if both can play together, I think an opportunity would have been found by now if that was the case.

“Duran just has to continue waiting for his chance – whether that is through an injury for Watkins, or Watkins’ form going backwards. But full credit to Duran, his attitude has been spot on.”

So far this season, Duran has scored seven goals in 13 appearances across all competitions (most of which have been from the bench). Watkins, on the other hand, has scored five goals in 12 appearances, but has also managed to notch up three assists - Duran does not have a single assist to his name this season as of yet.