Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith gives his view on the big summer transfer decisions at Villa Park
Dean Smith, Head Coach of Charlotte FC
Dean Smith(Image: Getty Images)
Dean Smith claims that Aston Villa don't want and can't lose either Ollie Watkins or Emiliano Martinez this summer.
Villa need to bring in cash to stay on the right side of football's finance rules after failing to qualify for the Champions League. The sales of Moussa Diaby and Jhon Durán have already given the accounts a major boost but that hasn't stopped speculation that Watkins and Martinez are available at the right price.
It was Smith who signed both players, bringing in Martinez from Arsenal in 2021 for a fee of about £17 million, the same summer he brought in Watkins for about £28m from Brentford - where he had also been the manager who signed him from Exeter City three years previously.
They have proven to be two of the best deals in Villa's modern history and Smith, now managing Charlotte FC in MLS, doesn't think it is time to draw the curtains on their time in Birmingham.
Watkins has continued to be linked with Arsenal, who had been sniffing around for about £40m in January, while World Cup winner Martinez is being linked with Chelsea and Manchester United. There have been conflicting stories about Chelsea, with Fabrizio Romano claiming they are happy with their current goalkeeper unit and the Mirror keeping the door open for potential business.
"Villa don’t want to lose either of them and I don’t think they can," Smith told the Daily Mail.
"My wife’s not happy because we had one game in June so we missed Ollie’s wedding and she was gutted we didn’t go. He’s another top lad that I keep in touch with and now Villa’s Premier League top scorer. I think he’s irreplaceable."
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