Ollie Watkins targets Champions League with Aston Villa after signing new deal

The striker has agreed a deal which puts him among the club's top earners and comes as a major boost to Unai Emery.

Watkins has scored 21 goals in 37 matches since the Spaniard took charge last November and this week earned a recall to the England squad, after netting four times in the last two Premier League matches.

The 27-year-old said the chance to continue working with Emery was the main motivation behind extending his deal, with talks having accelerated over the last fortnight.

Watkins told Villa TV: “The manager was massive in my decision to extend my contract. I have improved so much over a short space of time and I feel in the long-term there are different levels I can hit. He’s the main factor.

“I think we are only getting started. The boss has been here for a year. You have seen the progression but there are other levels we can get to. Hopefully we can push on and reach the Champions League spots. That is the aim in the long-run.”

Watkins has scored 50 goals since joining Villa from Brentford in a then club record £33million deal in 2020. He reached the landmark with a hat-trick in last weekend’s 6-1 thumping of Brighton.

Other targets include breaking Gabriel Agbonlahor's Premier League scoring record, while he also wants to end Villa's long wait for a major trophy.

He continued: “I feel like this is the best place for me to play my football. I still have a lot to achieve here, so I am delighted we have reached an agreement and I am here for a little while longer.

“It means a lot. I feel like I have had a really good connection with the fans. They have been really good for me. You see the direction the club is going and I want to be part of that.”