Lucas Digne reacts to Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins message amid exit news
Lucas Digne has reacted a post about Ollie Watkins as uncertainty swirls around his future.
The England striker became the West Midlands side’s record Premier League goal scorer when he bagged the winner in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on 10 May.
Watkins has 75 top-flight goals to his name in Villa colours, while he also scored one Champions League goal in 12 European appearances this season.
While Villa’s season came to an end when they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United on 25 May, the Premier League side made a fresh Instagram post on Sunday, 8 June to acknowledge Watkins’ milestone once again.
Digne reacts as Aston Villa celebrate Watkins’ Premier League record
While the striker continues to shine in claret and blue, former Villa scout Mick Brown exclusively told Football Insider that Unai Emery could sell Watkins this summer.
The West Midlands side’s official Instagram account shared a short compilation of the forward in goal-scoring action captioned: “Our record breaker.”
Digne, who is currently on international duty with France, liked the post.
Football Insider verdict
Aston Villa could struggle to adjust to Watkins’ exit
Emery’s side are already having to cope that they will likely have to operate without the attacking services of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, who enjoyed successful loan spells at Villa Park from PSG and Manchester United, respectively.
| Ollie Watkins stats | Premier League 2024/25 |
| Appearances | 38 |
| Goals | 16 |
| Assists | 8 |
Meanwhile, Watkins’ status as Aston Villa’s all-time leading goal scorer in the Premier League epitomises how important he has been for them since joining from Brentford in 2020.
If Emery’s men lose the services of the England international this summer, they will have an enormous void to fill, and sourcing an adequate replacement could prove all the more difficult after Villa failed to secure Champions League football after reaching the quarter-finals this year.
Amid the news that Watkins could depart, Morgan Rogers could join Arsenal, which would arguably be equally damaging for Aston Villa as they look to continue the positive progress they have made in recent years.
But as reported by Villa News, Harvey Barnes could move to Emery’s side this summer.