Ivan Toney once followed in Ollie Watkins’ footsteps, compared to his predecessor as Brentford’s centre-forward at every turn.
These days, though, they are firmly established as contemporaries, right now the two leading English strikers in the country, bar, of course, Harry Kane.
Watkins went into their latest meeting at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday as the form man, having fired 11 goals in 12 matches to lead Aston Villa’s resurgence under Unai Emery.
But by the final whistle, and despite Douglas Luiz’s late leveller for the visitors, Toney had served a reminder of why he ought to - just about - remain ahead in the race to understudy Kane.
The 27-year-old produced the kind of all-round performance that marks him out as more of a like-for-like deputy for the Three Lions skipper than Watkins, one which should have been enough to secure all three points for Thomas Frank’s side.
With flying wingers Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade to either side, Toney reprised Kane’s familiar point role, the centrepiece of a counter-attacking machine that ripped Villa open time and again after the break. Eventually, having seen both waste glaring chances, the forward took it on himself to break the deadlock, steaming in at the back-post to finish Mbeumo’s fine cross and bag his 19th Premier League goal of the season, fewer only than Kane and you-know-who.
Watkins, meanwhile, was largely kept in-check, his first opening coming with an awkward free header from ten yards out in the dying minutes, a chance he would in fact have been better passing up, with the excellent Emiliano Buendia well-placed for an easier finish coming in behind.
That said, it would hardly be fair to mark Watkins on the strength of this showing, against a team and a manager uniquely well-positioned to halt his hot streak.
“I guess we were pretty prepared for him,” Frank smiled, after his former player failed to either score or assist in a game for only the second time since mid-January.
Watkins was given a fine ovation by the home crowd and the Brentford boss admitted afterwards to feeling a sense of personal pride at watching two strikers he helped promote from the lower leagues go head-to-head in the top-flight.
Moving towards the end of the season, Toney still has the unknown of an FA gambling investigation hanging over him, while Watkins, with a view to Euro 2024, must turn his personal new-manager-bounce into a prolonged run of form next term, having enjoyed comparable purple patches in the past, though none on this scale.
Before then, both are worthy of closer examination when Gareth Southgate names his squad for June qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
What chance Brentford strikers past and present heading to that camp together? “That would be the dream,” Frank agreed.
