Emery is pleased as Villa “agrees” to sign the £70 million striker that Chelsea and Arsenal desire.
The seven-times capped England striker moved to Villa Park in summer 2020, the Villains – managed at the time by Dean Smith – paying Brentford a then-club record £33m fee. Despite some eyebrows being raised at the size of the fee, Watkins has more than earned his corn at Villa. Indeed, he has reached double figures in each of his three full seasons to date, scoring a total of 47 goals and adding 15 assists in 142 appearances to date.
His deal at Villa Park is currently due to expire in 2025 and speculation has arisen of late that some of the Premier League biggest spenders are casting envious eyes in Watkins’ direction. To that end, both Chelsea and Arsenal are both in the market for new strikers in 2024 and Watkins has found his name strongly linked with both of the London big guns.
Indeed, reports on Tuesday suggested the 27-year-old’s agent, Paulo Vernazza, has already held tentative talks with officials at the Gunners over a possible future move to Emirates.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have lacked a cutting edge all season and have largely struggled to find a reliable No 9 they can hang their hat on in attack with a number of costly signings failing to prove their worth at Stamford Bridge.
However, Unai Emery has made no secret of his desire to extend Watkins’ contract at Villa and ensure the £70m-rated striker’s future remains in claret and blue.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have lacked a cutting edge all season and have largely struggled to find a reliable No 9 they can hang their hat on in attack with a number of costly signings failing to prove their worth at Stamford Bridge.
However, Unai Emery has made no secret of his desire to extend Watkins’ contract at Villa and ensure the £70m-rated striker’s future remains in claret and blue.
The news will come as much relief to Emery, who will understandably be delighted to nail down his star striker, who has started every Premier League game so far this season.
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