Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is reportedly on Manchester United’s transfer shortlist this summer, in the event that Rasmus Hojlund leaves the club.
The 29-year-old has been a fundamental figure for Villa since joining us from Brentford in 2020, as he’s contributed 87 goals and 42 assists in 223 appearances for the club.
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His consistency in both his goalscoring and creativity year-on-year coupled with his durability, reliability and work ethic have made him a hugely effective option to lead the line, particularly since Unai Emery took charge, and so he’s been a pivotal presence up top for Villa, albeit he himself might admit that he hasn’t been as clinical as he would have liked during that period.
Nevertheless, especially with no current options providing competition or depth behind him, the England international remains critical to our plans moving forward, but according to The Athletic, Man Utd have earmarked him as a potential signing this summer to bolster their own frontline.
It’s added a call has been made but there are no negotiations ongoing as things stand, and there are seemingly several hurdles to overcome before a move can materialise, namely Utd offloading current options and making a sufficient offer to convince Villa to part company with our talismanic frontman. It’s said to hinge on Hojlund leaving initially, but it’s unclear just how much interest will be shown in him this summer after a difficult campaign last year.
Further, unless there is a ridiculous offer on the table that proves too good to refuse, it’s hard to see Villa even entertaining talks over a Watkins sale this summer, as he remains our main striker with a lack of alternative options around him and he continues to play a crucial role for Emery beyond his goal contributions as such an impactful fit for our system and style of play.
In turn, there is no real concern at this point over a potential exit, but time will tell if Villa are open to the idea later this summer once we’ve had a chance to strengthen the squad and perhaps bring in a player capable of ultimately being a replacement.
After it was reported on Monday that Villa had agreed a deal to sell the women’s team, thus ensuring that we will be compliant with PSR, there shouldn’t be a dramatic dash to sell players this summer to ensure that we don’t face the threat of sanctions. Villa are in a stronger position now to fend off interest and keep our key individuals, as opposed to selling like we’ve seen over the past two years.
While we do still need to lower our wage bill to comply with UEFA’s SCR rules, sacrificing Watkins doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense as we’ll have some task on our hands trying to replace him, but it remains to be seen how the situation develops, with Man Utd seemingly keeping him on their transfer radar for now.
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