January 30th 2025.
Former Scottish football player, Andy Gray, is urging Arsenal to make a bold move and offer £100m to Aston Villa in order to acquire their star striker, Ollie Watkins. Although Arsenal's initial bid of £60m was rejected by Villa, it is expected that they will come back with a higher offer. Manager Mikel Arteta is eagerly searching for a new striker before the January transfer window closes, as he hopes to strengthen their attacking lineup for a successful title push in the upcoming months.
Unfortunately, Arsenal's current striker, Gabriel Jesus, suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month and has not been consistent in front of goal even before his setback. Although they have also signed Kai Havertz for £65m from Chelsea, he has faced some difficulties and many experts believe that Arsenal needs a new striker in order to win major trophies. The Gunners have been linked to several potential targets, including Benjamin Sesko, Dusan Vlahovic, and Victor Osimhen, but it seems that Watkins is their top priority.
At only 29 years old, Watkins has already shown his talent and potential by scoring 27 goals last season for Aston Villa, helping them qualify for the Champions League. He then went on to play a vital role for England in Euro 2024. What makes this potential transfer even more exciting is the fact that Watkins has expressed his support for Arsenal since he was a child and has even mentioned that it would be a "dream" to play for them.
Former Sky Sports pundit, Gray, believes that Watkins would excel at Arsenal and would be an immediate upgrade from Havertz. However, he doubts that Aston Villa will agree to sell their star striker "for any money." He also mentions the uncertainty surrounding Jhon Duran, who is rumored to be a target for a massive bid from Saudi. Gray believes that Aston Villa would not want to lose Watkins, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Duran's future.
Despite Aston Villa's impressive victory over Celtic on Wednesday night, securing a top-eight spot and avoiding play-off games in the Champions League, former Premier League striker, Chris Sutton, believes that finishing in the top eight is a massive achievement for the club. He commends manager Unai Emery and the team for their progress and ability to compete on both domestic and European fronts. With their recent success, Aston Villa can now relax as the other teams battle it out in the play-off games.
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