‘Ollie Watkins suitors circle Aston Villa as Marcus Rashford could return on loan’
Ollie Watkins could explore a move away from Aston Villa in the summer transfer window with interest from potential takers emerging, as a new update on Marcus Rashford emerges.
Despite Unai Emery‘s side being knocked out to PSG in the quarter-fnal of the Champions League, Villa’s 3-2 win at Villa Park will go down as a memorisable night for supporters of the club.
A late comeback thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and John McGinn set up a nervous final 20 minutes for the French champions, however they held firm and will meet Arsenal in the next round.
However, Emery may now have to face the consequences of his decision to put his faith in Rashford through the middle and from the start, with Watkins subject to interest after becoming unhappy with his lack of Aston Villa game time.
Ollie Watkins the subject of interest ahead of the transfer window opening
According to The Times, Watkins has already been subject to “tentative” approaches ahead of the summer transfer window, with the striker not satisfied losing his place in Emery’s starting eleven.
In January, the 29-year-old was subject to a bid from Arsenal, but Villa had “no interest” in letting Watkins leave at that time.
The report also states that the future of Rashford is yet to be decided, as despite Villa having a £40million release clause and his parent club wanting to sell another season-long loan has not yet been ruled out.
The Man United loanee is said to have burnt bridges with more than just Ruben Amorim back at Old Trafford, but is noted as appearing to be happy at Villa Park.
However, it is reportedly unclear where he would prefer to play his football next season if all options are available to him, having held a desire to play in Europe and at Barcelona but with Premier League clubs likely to be in the hunt to sign him.
Either way Watkins’ future is expected to play a key role.
| Rashford stats 24/25 | Watkins stats 24/25 |
| Games – 39 | Games – 47 |
| Goals – 10 | Goals -15 |
| Assists – 9 | Assists – 12 |
Unai Emery to decide between Ollie Watkins and Marcus Rashford
Prior to Villa’s second-leg against PSG in the Champions League, much of the talk was about who Emery would choose to play through the middle.
Despite his 15 goals and 12 assists in all competitions and proving to be a very reliable option under the Spaniard, in his decision to start Rashford it seems the loanee has already jumped ahead of Watkins in the pecking order.
Rashford played 76 minutes of the game and was a constant threat, claiming the assist for the third goal on the night, to almost guide Villa to an unthinkable comeback.
It seems a scenario where Emery is able to manage the players expectations, game time and feel good factor will be an impossible task, therefore he will likely need to choose between the two.
At 29-years-old the resale value of Watkins would have been at its highest in January, so Villa may regret not being more proactive in the situation.
Whereas for Rashford, with Manchester United open to another loan deal and the low release clause, he may appear the more attractive proposal moving forward.