Manchester United are in the market to sign a striker, and their “Premier League proven” theme doesn’t leave them with many options better than Ollie Watkins.
The striker search, which began with Liam Delap rejecting Man Utd for Chelsea, has pivoted to a couple of serious options after noise around the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen.
Ollie Watkins is one of those serious options, with Man Utd stepping up efforts to sign him in recent days, followed by Rio Ferdinand giving his stamp of approval.
Now, Watkins has spoken out on his future ambitions, and it’s a comment that bodes extremely well for Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesOllie Watkins speaks out on his Aston Villa role
There are a number of reasons why Watkins is quickly emerging as the perfect striker target for United, even though Aston Villa will drive a hard bargain.
Watkins’ history with Bryan Mbeumo is also a plus point in his kitty, although Jean Philippe-Mateta’s name should be on the list as well.
Amidst all the speculation, Watkins has started off his 2025/26 season in the only way he knows how – by scoring against Eintracht Frankfurt in Aston Villa’s friendly.
Speaking after the game, Watkins talked like a player who knew he held all the cards and was willing to arm-twist Villa into getting what he wanted, either there or somewhere else.
He said: “[Unai Emery is] the manager at the end of the day and you’ve got to respect his decision, but I’m not one of those players that’s happy to sit on the bench. I was fuming, I wasn’t playing, and I let him know that.”
There’s an interesting Man Utd wrinkle to Watkins’ complaints because he had to sit on the bench due to Emery’s preference for Marcus Rashford.
With Villa targeting a striker again, Watkins’ comments bode extremely well for Amorim and Man Utd because they can promise him something Villa can’t.
Watkins will be the undisputed first-choice at Man Utd
These comments come at an opportune time for Man Utd, because it would be naive to assume that Watkins doesn’t know what he’s doing with these comments.
He’s aware of United’s interest, and using it to strong-arm Villa into giving him what he wants, and what Man Utd can promise him.
He will be the undisputed first-choice striker at Old Trafford, as he’s a vastly superior and more proven option than either Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee.
He will, in all likelihood, get a pay raise as well, which, at 29, could be his last big contract at a big club. These comments could be the start of an escalation where Man Utd end up getting him.
It aligns perfectly with United being ‘very convinced’ they will sign a new striker recently. There’s too much smoke for there to not be any fire.