Ollie Watkins beats Cole Palmer & Kevin De Bruyne to Premier League Playmaker of the Season award after inspiring Aston Villa to Champions League qualification

The 28-year-old forward enjoyed a rich vein of form in the 2023-24 season as he recorded 32 goal contributions for Villa, who secured a historic Champions League slot by finishing fourth in the Premier League - despite a 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign. Watkins scored 19 goals himself and also set up another 13, thereby beating Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Manchester City talisman Kevin De Bruyne to the Playmaker of the Season award for the most assists in the division.

The award was started in the 2017-18 campaign and Manchester City star De Bruyne has won it on three occasions. The other winners include Eden Hazard for Chelsea, Harry Kane for Tottenham Hotspur and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool.

Chelsea sensation Palmer managed 11 assists in total, while De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, Anthony Gordon and Martin Odegaard were among those to finish on ten. De Bruyne failed to win the prize for a second consecutive season, but it has to be kept in mind that the 32-year-old missed the first half of the season due to a hamstring injury and only appeared in 18 league games for his club, where he also scored four goals.

After consistently performing for his club, Watkins will hope to get picked by Gareth Southgate in the final England squad for the upcoming Euro 2024. He has also been linked with a summer move to Manchester United, though he remains under contract at Villa Park until 2028.