Aston Villa to entertain £80m+ Ollie Watkins transfer bids after Rasmus Hojlund at Man United

  1. Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins will continue to attract interest from other Premier League clubs, according to Don Goodman.

Watkins has once again been in superb form for Villa this season, having scored 11 goals in 24 league games and assisted a further 10.

The England international has seen his name linked with a number of clubs in the past, but he is under contract at Villa Park until 2028.

Speaking to Villa News, Goodman said: “He’s 28 and coming into his absolute peak powers physically and mentally. The next three, four or five years will be the best of his career.

“He’s more ruthless now in front of goal than ever and is also a team player. He does what defenders hate in that he makes runs behind in an intelligent way that will hurt an opponent.

“As a commodity to Aston Villa right now, if they were to lose him then they wouldn’t be able to replace him. He brings something different than a typical number nine.”

Ivan Toney comparisons

Goodman added: “If you’re going to work out a valuation for him then you have to look at comparable players that have moved recently, or someone whose valuation has been mentioned such as Ivan Toney.

You look at someone like Rasmus Hojlund and what Manchester United paid for him, so Watkins would be at least in that ballpark. You’re talking a good £80m at least if Aston Villa are ever going to entertain selling him.

“You’d imagine he’d be an asset to any club in the Premier League. This is his fourth season in the Premier League and he’s got better and better and better.

“He’s been linked with other teams but you hear ‘I’m not sure about this, about that’. There’s almost a Premier League snobbery when a player has come from the Championship into the league.

“But people like him and Ivan Toney show that, if you’re a quality striker in the Championship and continue to develop, then you can do it in the Premier League.

History shows countless examples of that, those two being the latest examples, Dominic Solanke another. If a big club was looking for a striker in the summer, I think they’d be foolish to not consider Watkins.”

Ollie Watkins is at Villa Park to stay

Watkins signing a new long-term deal last year was a massive relief to everyone at the club as it put an end – even if temporarily – to speculation over his future.

Unlike Brentford striker Toney, who is seemingly constantly in the transfer gossip columns, Watkins’ future was not called into question in the most recent window. Indeed, Villa instead used January to add to their squad.

Of course, if the prolific striker continues to score and assist at the rate he is, it is inevitable that the so-called ‘elite’ clubs will come calling in the summer. Even if that is the case, Villa are in a better state than many of the established top four right now.

As Goodman says, Watkins is pretty much irreplaceable and Villa therefore cannot entertain any offers, even if well in excess of that £80m figure mooted.

The hope is that he remains a Villan for the duration of his contract and he can maintain the form we have seen across a number of years now. Manage that and he could easily go down as one of the club’s all-time greats.


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