The England player behind players like Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland in the hunt for the Golden Boot, coming in fourth.
Ollie Watkins, a standout for England and Aston Villa, is being targeted by Arsenal, who plan to make a summer approach for him. The 28-year-old has been playing well for Unai Emery’s team, and Mikel Arteta, who will be looking for a new number nine for the 2024–25 season, has reportedly taken notice of him, according to Fichajes via SportWitness.
Folarin Balogun left the Emirates for Monaco in the summer of last year, leaving Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus as the two main candidates. However, the young Englishman has been reduced to a supporting position as the Brazilian star has been hampered by injuries and inconsistent play all season long.
As Arteta’s number nine, Leandro Trossard has been the team’s first choice. He was used against Burnley and West Ham and scored in both games. Another player to play up top for the Gunners is Kai Havertz, but the former Chelsea player was mostly brought in to support Granit Xhaka in midfield when he transferred to Bayer Leverkusen, the team of Xabi Alonso.
Trossard is reportedly not seen as Arteta’s long-term solution, despite his recent goals, and they are now giving Watkins of Aston Villa priority to make an offer for him during the upcoming transfer window.
With 25 top-flight games played so far this season, Watkins, 28, has contributed 12 assists and 13 goals, placing him fourth in the running for the Golden Boot behind Erling Haaland (16), Mohamed Salah (15), and Dominic Solanke (14).
In addition, he has started every Villans Premier League match. On Saturday, Emery’s 2-1 victory over Fulham featured two of his goals.
Though Watkins’ current contract isn’t scheduled to expire until the summer of 2028, he and Villa Park did agree on a new long-term deal back in October. The Villans would be in a good position to demand a very high price if Arsenal were to propose, and the Fichajes report indicates that the Gunners might have to pay up to £85.6 million.
This would be about £60 million more than Aston Villa spent Brentford for Watkins in 2020; but, in 151 outings for the Lions across all competitions since then, the former Exeter City player has tallied 61 goals and provided 25 assists. In nine appearances for England, he has also scored three goals for the team captained by Gareth Southgate.
