Keinan Davis may seem to have an uncertain future at Aston Villa as he has been short of form and playing time this season, but Dean Smith has insisted that the 22-year-old remains a “valuable” presence at the club.
The striker has made only seven appearances from a possible 21 this term and has scored just one goal. By contrast, Ollie Watkins has seven league goals and has started in every league outing thus far, resulting in Davis amassing just 47 minutes of Premier League football in 2020/21.
Despite the 22-year-old receiving scant game-time, Smith still rates his presence in the squad highly, telling Birmingham Live: “(Davis is a) valuable member of my squad.
“At the moment, Keinan Davis is our first centre forward substitute for Ollie Watkins. (He’s a) valuable squad member who wants pitch-time obviously but will have to be patient.”
READ ASTON VILLA VERDICT
Davis hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in 22 appearances since Villa were promoted from the Championship in 2019, so it’s hardly a surprise that he’s behind Watkins in the pecking order.
Wesley Moraes might oust Davis from the side completely when he makes a full recovery from injury, so his long-term future will be in jeopardy. Until that happens, though, the 22-year-old will remain Villa’s only senior backup at centre-forward.
Although Smith insists that Davis is useful, Watkins has played every minute of every league game, so the manager doesn’t seem to fully trust the backup option. Indeed, Villa were considering loaning Davis out this month if they could bring in a replacement, so his days at the club might be numbered despite the manager’s remarks.
