Ollie Watkins feels it’s a fitting time to leave Aston Villa and reports say she’s keen on a summer move to Manchester United. And the villa’s unsold stance is likely to soften as they struggle to offload players who were carrying cash to comply with financial rules.
United have identified Benjamin Sesco as a priority striker target, but faces serious competition with Newcastle United for his signature. Magpies have submitted their second bid of over £70 million, but RB Leipzig has yet to receive an official offer from Old Trafford.
It was said that Reuben Amorim first identified Watkins as his preferred option during his recruitment drive focused on the Premier League.
However, it appears United have turned their attention to Sesco after Villa revealed that the 29-year-old is not on the market.
However, things may have changed. According to the Sun, Claret and Blue were able to embrace Watkins’ desire for new challenges amidst the pressure to comply with the PSR.
UEFA fined the villa for violating financial rules early in the summer, demanding that UNAI Emery sanction the sale to balance the book.
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Villa is claimed to be keen to raise funds through sales of players such as Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey. But they are not receiving the interest they wanted.
Currently, the report adds that United can praise Watkins from Villa Park with offers of between £40 million and £50 million.
This represents a package that is much lower than Leipzig’s demand for Sesco. This proves to be attractive to the boss of Old Trafford.
Although Watkins has little resale value due to his age, he offers cast Premier League and international experience.
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The 18-cap England International has been featured in five Premier League seasons since joining the Brentford villa.
He doubled all goals and tweaked tallies of 16, 11, 16, 27 and 17.
Amorim understands that he needs quick results, which sparked his desire to recruit Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo from Wolves and Brentford, respectively.
Cunha and Mbeumo combined goals from last year’s 35 leagues to contribute nine shy people to United’s incredible tally as a club.
Sesko is still in the sights of Red Devils, but it appears that Watkins could be used as an attractive alternative.
