Newcastle United sent Champions League transfer warning at Aston Villa as striker left 'fuming'

Newcastle’s six-game winning streak was stopped in its tracks with a 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins’ early opener was cancelled out by Fabian Schar’s header in the first half before Villa ran riot with three goals in 11 second half minutes.

Ian Maatsen, a Dan Burn own goal and substitute Amadou Onana saw Villa claim a comfortable win to close the gap on Newcastle to just two points with five games left to play.

While Newcastle named an unchanged starting line-up for the seventh successive match while Villa made four changes from their midweek match against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Watkins was one of the players who came into the side, along with Maatsen, Marco Asensio, and Tyrone Mings.

Aston Villa striker ‘fuming’ at Unai Emery decision

Watkins played a key role in Villa’s win with a goal inside the opening 40 seconds. He then hit the woodwork twice in the first half before being replaced by Marcus Rashford in the closing stages.

Following the match, Watkins expressed his frustration of being used as a rotation option in the side.

“I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games,” he told Sky Sports. “I am not going to lie, I was fuming that I wasn't playing - I let him [Unai Emery] know that.

"He's the manager, you have to respect his decision, [but] I am not one of these players happy to sit on the bench.

"It is something I have not experienced before, to miss out on the biggest stage. I wanted to be out on the pitch for much longer. I have played a big part to get to where we are today and I want to play in those games."

When Watkins’ statement was put to Unai Emery after the match, the Villa head coach responded: “It's fantastic to be angry and fantastic for him to play like he did [against Newcastle]."

But what Saturday highlighted was the strength of Villa’s squad to be able to fight and compete on multiple fronts. Emery’s side reached the Champions League quarter-final and FA Cup semi-final while also pushing to qualify for the competition for a second successive season.

Meanwhile, a lack of European football has arguably been beneficial to Newcastle as they were able to win the Carabao Cup while also pushing for Champions League qualification.

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Newcastle United need to strengthen their squad in the summer

The last time Newcastle were in Europe they were hit with a major injury crisis which ultimately saw them miss out on Europe in the Premier League while also being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

After carefully navigating PSR pressures, the club are set to have money to spend in the summer with European football in some form already guaranteed for next season.

Villa’s ability to rotate the squad and continue competing on multiple fronts was a message to Newcastle as to what they will have to do in the summer transfer market.

When asked about the comparisons between Aston Villa’s deep squad and Newcastle’s potential issues in that department, assistant manager Jason Tindall said: “Yes, you look at their squad. They've got a fantastic squad, and so have we.

“They've got a great squad, and I'm sure in the summer, as a football club, we'll always look to try and improve the squad.

“Villa's certainly a team that's got a great team, a great squad, and I think you could see that today with the players that they had on their bench. But I'm sure come the summer, we'll analyse what we've got and we'll look to see what the future lies.”

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