Man Utd need to sign a new striker this summer but it seems Ollie Watkins will not be leaving Aston Villa.
Steven is a senior writer and covers Manchester United for the Manchester Evening News. You can follow Steven on Twitter at @StevenRailston.
Ollie Watkins (pictured centre right) has been linked with United.(Image: 2024 The FA)
Another striker target bites the dust at Manchester United in the summer transfer window.
Last month, Watkins emerged as a potential striker target at Old Trafford, but reports suggested Aston Villa will not sell him this summer, which always felt like the most likely outcome.
Aston Villa were believed to have wanted £60million to even consider a sale. Watkins is proven in the Premier League and he demonstrated his quality with England last summer at Euro 2024. He is an experienced centre-forward and would guarantee goals, but the deal never made sense from an Aston Villa perspective.
Villa are one of the top flight clubs that are struggling with Profitability and Sustainability (PSR), but they are set to sell their women’s team to avoid a breach, which should give them wriggle room.
The elephant in the room was who lead their attack if Watkins were sold? Rashford has joined Barcelona and John Duran was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in the January window.
It was unlikely Villa would sell two goalscoring strikers in successive transfer windows, especially when there are limited striker options to replace Watkins currently in the transfer market.
Villa are also a direct rival to United due to the good work of Unai Emery. The Spaniard has established Villa as European challengers during his reign and would not want to strengthen a competitor.
Watkins has scored 87 goals during his time in Birmingham and reliable goalscorers are difficult to find, so Villa would obviously be better off sticking and not twisting in this summer window.
The Telegraph report Villa have now insisted Watkins is not for sale at any price. And when you look at the state of the striker market this summer, that stance does not come as a surprise.
Ollie Watkins has been linked with a move to Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
That poses the question: which striker do United target this summer? There are concerns United could start the new season without a new centre-forward, which would be criminal after a train wreck 2024/2025.
Watkins is not for sale, Jonathan David has signed for Juventus on a free transfer, Viktor Gyökeres is set to sign for Arsenal (United weren’t interested) and Hugo Ekitike has signed for Liverpool.
RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is an option, but Victor Osimhen is still available and he should have been the leading target for United since the first day of the summer transfer window.
Napoli were entertaining bids in the region of £70million for Osimhen before talks collapsed with Chelsea last summer and he only turned 26 in December, so he should be coming into his prime. Yes, Osimhen is a big name and would demand large wages, which goes against Ineos’ policy, but he is a prolific centre-forward.
Osimhen scored 37 goals in 41 games for Galatasaray – an undeniably impressive record, even in a weaker division – and he would be the dream centre forward signing for many United fans.
So why hasn’t Osimhen found a new club yet? The answer is probably wage demands. They have appeared to be a stumbling block so far in this window in talks with other clubs and United will not break their wage structure.
Having said that, United scored just 44 goals in the Premier League last season and Osimhen would be the perfect solution to Ruben Amorim’s biggest problem, so perhaps a compromise could be found.
United are running out of striker options and must act sooner rather than later.