Manchester United have reportedly added Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins to their strikers’ shortlist, but will only pursue his services on one condition.
The Red Devils have been searching the market for a new bomber, but have found little luck on this front, at least for now. They fell short in the tug-of-war for Liam Delap who declared for Chelsea, and they’re currently trailing behind Arsenal in the race for Viktor Gyokeres.
Therefore, INEOS continue to dig deeper in the market in the hopes of finding the right profile, someone capable of guaranteeing goals upfront after an almost barren campaign from Rasmus Hojlund who only bagged four goals in the Premier League.
Man Utd set sights on Ollie Watkins
According to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, Man Utd have identified Watkins as their latest target to bolster the attack.
The 29-year-old rose to prominence during his time at Brentford, earning himself a move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2020.
Aside from the last few months which saw him lose his starting berth to Marcus Rashford, the Torquay native has been an absolute protagonist at Unai Emery’s court. He has already contributed with 87 goals and 42 assists in his 223 appearances for the Villans.
He was also celebrated by the entire nation after scoring England’s late winner against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. His international teammate Harry Kane hailed his achievement as ‘outstanding’.
Man United must sell Ramus Hojlund
While United are interested in Watkins’ services, Whitwell reveals that the club must also offload Hojlund to make room for the England hero. Selling the young Dane is thus considered a key condition for the transfer to materialise.
Although the 22-year-old is coming off a largely disappointing campaign, he remains a popular figure in Serie A, with Inter Milan particularly keen to sign him.
Therefore, United will be hoping to strike an agreement with the Nerazzurri as soon as possible, so they can turn their attention towards bringing in a replacement, whether it’s Watkins or any other striker, for that matter.
Interestingly, a recent report in the British press argued in favour of a swap deal between Man Utd and Aston Villa, involving Hojlund and Watkins.
Manchester United would be wise to seek to buy a Premier League proven striker. As such a deal for Watkins make infinite sense, maybe with either Hojlund or Garnacho going the other way?
Failing that, United (as reported) could seek to buy Ivan Toney.
The list of Centre Forwards then would be
Osimhen,
Vlahovic,
Kean,
Ekitike,
Gyokeres,
Osimhen, Ekitike and Gyokeres will all need absurd money, whilst all five (maybe with Osimhen as an exception) will come with no guarantee of goals
No disrespect to Man Utd, but why would Watkins leave a club on the up to join struggling Utd? Feels like Utd are light years from being a top 6 team… Villa have finished top 6 for 3 straight years and have great owners and a top, top manager