Ollie Watkins: Arsenal bid for Aston Villa striker rejected but Gunners expected to return with improved offer – Sky Sports

Football
Arsenal have had a bid rejected by Aston Villa for England striker Ollie Watkins; Watkins has scored 10 goals in 23 games for Villa in the Premier League this season; Gunners expected to return with improved offer
Wednesday 29 January 2025 18:07, UK
Arsenal have had a bid rejected for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.
However, it is expected Arsenal will return with an improved offer.
Villa’s position is that Watkins is not for sale, which makes it unlikely a deal will be done in this window.
Jhon Duran is also the subject of interest in this window, with Al Nassr weighing up an offer to take him to the Saudi Pro League.
Watkins is the Premier League’s ninth-top goalscorer this season with 10 goals, having scored 19 for Villa in the competition last season.
The 29-year-old has five goals in 18 games for England, including the winner in last season’s Euro 2024 semi-final victory against the Netherlands.
Sky Sports’ Peter Gill:
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“Well, this is unexpected. And there are immediately three issues seemingly at play.
“The first, most obviously, is Arsenal’s pressing need for a striker. But who predicted they would identify Ollie Watkins as their first solution?
“The second is the apparent struggle of Unai Emery to play Waktins and Jhon Duran together. Does something have to give? And given there has already been plenty of speculation around Duran moving on, do Villa have a choice to make around which striker stays?
“And the third is the timing. Arsenal’s bid has been apparently made just hours before Villa’s critical Champions League tie with Celtic. Why now? And how well did they think this would land on tonight of all nights?”
Back when Watkins was a Brentford striker in the Championship, he was asked in March 2020 whether he would want to join his boyhood club Arsenal, and admitted it was “the dream” to turn out at The Emirates.
“Thierry Henry, as an Arsenal fan, was unbelievable to watch. He was my idol growing up,” he told Sports Gazette.
“The dream is to play for Arsenal one day but it’s a long shot. My family support them and stuff like that, but that’s the long term.”
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