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Topics: Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Unai Emery, Premier League
Josh Lawless
Topics: Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, Unai Emery, Premier League
The future of out-of-favour Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has taken a fresh twist amid talks of a fallout with Unai Emery.
Watkins, who starred for England at Euro 2024 in the summer, has scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season but has found himself out of the side following on from the captures of Donyell Malen, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
After finding himself on the bench against Paris Saint-Germain in both Champions League quarter-final legs, Watkins sent a message to Emery with a strike just one minute into the 4-1 trouncing of Newcastle after being handed a start last weekend.
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"Champions League, we've put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position," Watkins told Sky Sports after finding the net.
"I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I'm not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn't playing.
"I let [Emery] know that. He's the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I'm not one of the players happy to sit on the bench."
However, Watkins did found himself amongst the substitutes once again in the late 2-1 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday - coming off the bench for 14 minutes but struggling to impose himself on the game.
Afterwards Emery said the two had a "good conversation" about Watkins, Villa's joint-record Premier League goalscorer, being overlooked but the betting markets would appear to indicate a departure is near.
According to Betfair, Arsenal are the favourites to sign the former Brentford man before 29 August 2025. The Gunners pursued Watkins in January but had a bid rejected by Villa, who resisted advances late in the window.
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But their interest appears to remain and Betfair say Arsenal are 6/4 to be his next club. Manchester United are also in desperate need of a striker and are priced 9/2, with Liverpool and Newcastle following behind with odds of 15/2 and 17/2.
Meanwhile, Watkins is 10/1 to join former teammate Jhon Duran in moving to the Saudi Pro League and 22/1 to move to the MLS.
Watkins signed for Villa in 2020 for a then club-record fee of £28 million and has scored 86 goals in 218 games in all competitions.
After conceding a last-gasp winner from Matheus Nunes on Tuesday, Watkins and Villa turn their attentions to the FA Cup semi-final with Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday.