NEWS NOW : Aston Villa's £70 million star has been updated.

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has been a vital part in Unai Emery’s success at Villa Park.

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins could have attracted the attention of several Premier League outfits, as transfer insider Dean Jones provides GIVEMESPORT with “messages coming out” of Villa Park.

During his time as Villans manager, Unai Emery has gotten the most out of the center-forward.

Ollie Watkins has joined Aston Villa on loan.
Watkins has had a good three years after moving from Brentford to Aston Villa in a £33 million deal in 2020. In 122 games for the Villans, the 27-year-old has 46 goals and 15 assists, helping the club maintain its Premier League position in his first two seasons.

Ollie Watkins can thrive under Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa | LiveScore

Last season, the Torquay-born forward scored 15 goals and assisted six times in the Premier League as Villa recovered from a shaky start to finish seventh, gaining a spot in this season’s Europa Conference League. Watkins’ hat-trick in the first leg of a 5-0 play-off thrashing of Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership made the 3-0 victory in the second leg a foregone conclusion, putting Villa in the competition’s group stages.

Watkins has yet to score in the Premier League this season, but he has supplied two assists as Villa have had a mixed start to their domestic campaign, winning comfortably against Everton and Burnley before being heavily defeated at Newcastle United and Liverpool.

Watkins’ goal-scoring prowess in the last year is certain to have piqued the interest of clubs throughout the Premier League and Europe.

Premier League – 2022/23 top scorers

Player

Goals

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

Ivan Toney (Brentford)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

All stats according to the Premier League

What did Jones have to say about Aston Villa and Watkins?
Jones has received communications from the club indicating that Villa are satisfied with Watkins as their main center-forward, but the Villans must consider locking him down to a new contract before his £75,000-per-week contract expires in January. According to a transfer insider, GIVEMESPORT:

“Watkins is at a crossroads in his career, and this is a critical time for him.” I think Villa is a terrific club for him right now, and there will be discussions about his contract soon because Villa can’t let it get into the final 18 months, because that’s when offers start to come in and players can get itchy feet.

“There were messages coming out of the club over the summer that they were happy with him as the main forward.” He has yet to score in the league, and as a forward, the longer that goes on, the more concerned you can become, but Watkins understands this type of play and is trusted in the system.

“I haven’t heard that he is being prioritized for a transfer any time soon, but it would be surprising if he wasn’t on the radar of clubs like Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur as they consider their attacking options.” Chelsea has him on their radar, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with him committing to Villa. If he does not do so, there is a chance he will leave.

More: The Premier League’s Top Ten Strikers Right Now, Ranked (Including Watkins)

Which clubs are interested in signing Watkins?
Villa got through the summer transfer window despite facing minimal competition for Watkins’ services. Jones told GIVEMESPORT in June that Chelsea sources were perplexed that head coach Mauricio Pochettino was not making an active move to capture Watkins this summer. The Blues have signed RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku and Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson, making a move for Watkins improbable unless they can balance their books more in the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur may be interested in signing the former Exeter City star after selling club record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window without replacing him with an out-and-out number nine.

In June, The Athletic reported that Watkins, valued at £70m according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, was seen as a low-risk striker option by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils had allowed Wout Weghorst to depart after his unsuccessful loan move to Old Trafford and were in the market for a centre-forward. However, the Manchester giants turned to Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund, ruling another Premier League club out of Watkins’ signature.

Meanwhile, before to the summer transfer season opening in April, rumours indicated Bayern Munich was interested in purchasing the England international throughout the market. However, the Bundesliga champions signed Three Lions colleague Kane instead, which means that the puzzle pieces haven’t fallen into place for Watkins to leave Villa Park, and the striker stays in the West Midlands following the market’s close.

As a result, Villa hopes to secure Watkins’ future before the January transfer deadline as they prepare for an exciting season under Emery.