Manchester United have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.
The Red Devils have lost out on Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who has reportedly agreed to sign with Premier League rivals Arsenal, after scoring 54 goals in 52 games for the Portuguese club.
Ruben Amorim will need to look at alternative targets this summer instead, and one of those names has been Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. The Villa star was subject to a £40m bid from Arsenal in the January transfer window, which was rejected.
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It was reported that the Birmingham-based club are demanding more like £60m for the 29-year-old England international. He scored 17 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions last season in 54 games for Unai Emery’s side.
Manchester United are the favourites to sign Watkins
There has been no official bid from United, but it has been said that Watkins is now their first choice striker after the reported agreement for Gyokeres.
According to William Hill, Man United are the 3/1 favourites to land Watkins, ahead of several other Premier League clubs. Arsenal are second at 5/1, Liverpool third at 8/1, tied with Newcastle. Out of those clubs, Man United and Arsenal are the only two linked to Watkins.
Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps said: “Ollie Watkins is a man who looks set to be on the move, and Manchester United have emerged as the likeliest destination for the England striker. The Red Devils have been as big as 20/1 in the betting, but we’ve seen strong support for them to sign Watkins, so much so they are now 3/1 favourites to get the Villa man.”
Only time will tell to see if Manchester United do make a move to sign Watkins, although they would likely need to make a few sales this summer to fund their striker transfer business.
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