Ex-Liverpool star Emile Heskey thinks Ollie Watkins could be better than Man City's Erling Haaland

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has suggested that Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is a better striker than Norwegian goal-machine Erling Haaland , with the Premier League icon making a bold claim about the pair.

Speaking to 10bet , the ex-England international suggested that Watkins is in better form than the Premier League’s leading goal scorer and is more of an all-round forward. While there is some truth to that argument, Haaland has already reached double figures in the league this season and is flying towards yet another Golden Boot.

"I think [Aston Villa has] got the best striker in the league after Erling Haaland in Ollie Watkins," Heskey began. "There’s an argument to be made that Watkins could be on par or even better than Haaland at this moment in time because of his all-round game and what he gives Aston Villa on top of the goals that he scores.

"At Manchester City , Haaland doesn’t really need to get that involved with the play, whereas Watkins has to be involved all the time at Villa," Heskey added. He also praised the transformation that Unai Emery has overseen at Aston Villa and the recruitment at the club over the last few years.

Liverpool is currently four points ahead of Aston Villa in the Premier League table. The Reds will host Emery's men at Anfield in the last match before the next international break, by which time Arne Slot's men will have already faced Chelsea , Arsenal and Brighton in a tricky run of top-flight fixtures.

Liverpool.com says: Haaland is some way clear at the top of the list of the best strikers in the division at the moment but Watkins and Diogo Jota would be up there as well. Suggesting that anyone is better than a barely-human Haaland, though, is a tough argument to make successfully given the sheer volume of goals he gets his team.