After missing out on both Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres in the window thus far, Manchester United added Ollie Watkins to their striker shortlist towards the end of June.
Their interest in the Aston Villa talisman meant he joined Delap, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo on the list of Premier League-proven stars being targeted by United this year. As of yet, only a deal for Cunha has come to fruition.
That could all be about to change in the coming weeks, however, as the Midlands outfit have dropped a major hint that they’re preparing behind the scenes for Watkins’ exit.
Villa being sizing up move for Watkins replacement
Based on a fresh report from Portuguese outlet A Bola, Villa have lined up a direct Watkins successor in the form of Porto frontman Samu Aghehowa.
The Spanish international, 21, scored a hugely impressive 27 goals across all competitions throughout 20024/2025, including two in three matches at the now-concluded Club World Cup.
Porto have made it clear that Samu can leave for the right price before the window closes and they will accept no less than £69 million to sanction his exit. Assuming Villa meet such demands, it’ll be pretty apparent from the get-go that the youngster will become Unai Emery’s first-choice up front.
It may come as a surprise to the Villa Park faithful if Watkins does depart, too, given the club parted ways with Jhon Duran back in January amidst his scintillating goalscoring form, as he was growing aggrieved at playing second fiddle to the England international.
How much can United expect to pay for Watkins?
Meanwhile, 29-year-old Watkins has been valued at £60m by Villa – and it’s no wonder why.
He boasts a stunning record of 75 goals and 36 assists in 184 top-flight appearances, while he’s also notched seven goal contributions (five goals and two assists) in the 18 Three Lions caps he’s accumulated.
Villa selling Watkins and getting Aghehowa isnt very plausible. Villa are under Uefa SCR sanctions, and to get a player on the Uefa squad A-list for Europa League, the player getting on the list must have a lower SCR squad cost ratio than Watkins. If Villa buy Aghehowa for £50m on 50k a week his SCR will be 160k lower than Watkins making it a positive balance on the A-list. Then you can swap them on the list. Not very realistic though.
Yes, Okay.
Not a chance, as we won’t be paying any big money out for signings this year.
And to be honest, I don’t think he would want to go to Man U anyway.
Love, a Villan
Watkins isn’t sexy enough for the Playstation generation.
His numbers are sexy – top drawer – and all racked up at the highest levels of competition.
But the kids would prefer a punt on a prodigy with zero experience of the Premier League. Promise has a higher ceiling than performance does for some folk.
Watkins’ numbers are cheap at 60m.