Liverpool are ‘closely monitoring’ Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins amid a ‘growing fear’ they will be ‘priced out’ of a move for their top target.
Arsenal saw a £40m bid for Watkins rejected in January as Villa wanted £60m that they instead got from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr for the England international’s rival for a starting spot, Jhon Duran.
The Villans may now regret turning down the Gunners’ offer for Watkins given the 29-year-old has been dropped to the bench for all but one of Villa’s fixtures in April and was only trusted with 25 minutes across the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Marcus Rashford started both of those games following his loan move from Manchester United in January and was particularly impressive as Villa just fell short of turning the tie on its head at Villa Park.
Unai Emery claimed ahead of that second leg that he hopes to “test a partnership” before the end of the season.
“The next step, if I have time, is to play them together,” Emery said.
“We’ve tried Rashford on the left side before, but now both are more suited to central roles. I want to test that partnership, but not now – not in a match of this magnitude without proper preparation.”
But Football Insider claim if Villa take up the £40m option to make Rashford’s loan move from Manchester United permanent this summer then ‘the door could open’ for Watkins’ departure.
The report states:
‘Marcus Rashford‘s future at Villa Park is key to Watkins potentially pushing for a summer move away from the Midlands giants.
‘It is believed the door could open for the long-serving Villa striker to depart should they sign Rashford on a permanent basis from Man United this summer.’
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And while Arsenal remain interested in Watkins, it’s claimed Liverpool are also ‘closely monitoring’ his situation and ‘could now rival Mikel Arteta’s side for the striker in the off-season’.
The England forward is under contract at Villa Park until June 2028 after penning his last deal 18 months ago, meaning Villa’s valuation is unlikely to have changed too much, but Watkins won’t cost nearly as much as the Reds’ reported top target, Alexander Isak.
It’s thought Newcastle may be asking for as much as £150m for the 25-year-old, who’s scored 21 goals in 29 Premier League games this season.
And the report claims there’s a ‘growing fear’ at Liverpool that they will be ‘priced out’ of a move for the Sweden international if the Magpies seal a top-five finish and qualify for next season’s Champions League, which looks highly likely on current form.
