Ollie Watkins gets royal seal of approval as Youri Tielemans wins double at Aston Villa awards

The Belgium international claimed both the supporters’ and players’ player of the year prizes at a ceremony held at Villa Park on Wednesday night.

Tielemans was the only player to have started all of Villa’s Premier League matches this season, before a calf injury forced him to miss the recent wins over Bournemouth and Tottenham.

The 28-year-old has made a total of 52 starts in all competitions, scoring five goals and setting up 10 more.

Watkins, meanwhile, received a special award in recognition of becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League.

The England international overtook Gabriel Agbonlahor when he scored the only goal in this month’s win at Bournemouth, his 75th in the top flight since joining Villa from Brentford five years ago.

Watkins, who has finished top scorer in every season he has been at the club, was presented with a framed shirt, signed by his team-mates, together with a letter from lifelong Villa supporter, Prince William, congratulating him on the achievement.

Other winners on the night included Morgan Rogers, who claimed the young player of the season award after a superb first full campaign at the club.

The 22-year-old, also shortlisted for the Premier League’s young player of the season prize, has scored 14 goals and registered 15 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions. That included a hat-trick in January’s 4-2 Champions League win over Celtic, a victory which secured Unai Emery’s team a top-eight finish in the group phase of the competition.

John McGinn’s goal in last month’s thrilling quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain was named goal of the season.

The Scotland international jokingly thanked Jhon Duran for leaving the club in January when receiving the award.

Duran, who scored a series of sensational goals during the first half of the campaign, was sold to Al-Nassr, with none of his goals subsequently nominated for the prize.

There was also a special recognition award presented to goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who will be leaving Villa at the end of the season.

Olsen has made only 21 appearances since initially joining on loan from Roma in January 2022 but is a hugely popular member of the dressing room.

Members of the club’s hierarchy including Monchi, Damian Vidagany and Emery himself all addressed the room during the course of the evening.

But while last year’s awards ceremony was the scene of celebrations as it was confirmed Villa had qualified for the Champions League, this time things were far quieter, with Emery’s men preparing for Sunday’s crucial last day trip to Manchester United as they seek to make a return to Europe’s elite club competition.