NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins would “bite off your arm” if he signed for Chelsea this summer, according to former Premier League defender Glen Johnson.
Watkins has been tentatively linked with a move away from Villa Park following his very good season under Unai Emery and his limited but brilliant impact for England at Euro 2024.
The 28-year-old enjoyed his most productive campaign to date last season, scoring 19 goals and providing thirteen assists as Aston Villa finished fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Watkins looked set to endure a frustrating and uneventful campaign at Euro 2024 when he stepped in as a replacement for Harry Kane, but the Villa boy came off the bench to score a brilliant and dramatic goal in the semi-final over the Netherlands.
Watkins’ opinion only has a higher hypothesis that a European top club would approach Aston Villa with an offer this summer and Johnson “can actually see it” moving to Chelsea.
Chelsea, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca at the end of the season, are looking for a new striker for Nicolas Jackson, who had a combined first year at Stamford Bridge.
Les Bleus have long been interested in Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian, lately in Serie A at Napoli, is also a target of France’s champions, PSG.
Asked if he thought Watkins would be willing to leave Aston Villa and forgo the Champions League to sign for Chelsea, Johnson told Betfred: “If I had the chance to sign for Chelsea, I think he would bite his arm.
“Aston Villa had a wonderful season and qualified for the Champions League, but Chelsea is still Chelsea and I’m sure they will bounce back. Ollie would definitely use them and I can definitely see this deal coming through.
“I can see the reasons why he would stay at Villa and why he would move to Chelsea. He didn’t play much time in the Euros, but when he took the field, England looked like a bigger team.
Chelsea are not the only club looking to sign a striker this summer, as Arsenal are also keen to take advantage of Mikel Arteta’s attacking characteristics ahead of the new season.
The Gunners were strongly linked with Benjamin Sesko’s move before he signed a new contract at RB Leipzig and are now expected to trade Watkins, William Gallas.
“For Arsenal, I like Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins,” the former Premier League player told Lord Ping.
“He has the speed you want as a striker and with a player like Martin Odegaard he would be simply magnificent, think of all the assists.
“It’s very difficult to protect against players like Ollie Watkins because he’s very wise with his careers, with Odegaard they would do a lot of damage. If I were at Arsenal, I would.
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