After Arsenal reportedly made a $ 60 million ($74 million) bid just hours before the England striker’s team reached the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, Unai Emery insisted that Aston Villa would not sell Ollie Watkins.
Emery’s side won 4-2 at a raucous Villa Park to advance to the playoffs after going over Celtic in the first half of the competition.
Morgan Rogers’ double in the opening five minutes gave Celtic a 2-0 lead before Adam Idah scored twice in 145 seconds to bring the score level just before half-time.
Watkins saved Villa from the rumors with a brilliant second-half strike to restore their advantage.
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After scoring, the 29-year-old missed a penalty, but Rogers’ first career treble came in stoppage time to help Villa advance without a play-off.
Arsenal’s mooted approach for Watkins was ill-timed from Villa’s point of view, given the significance of their clash with the Scottish champions.
After the game, there was a suggestion that Villa had rejected Arsenal’s offer, and Emery failed to give any incentives to the Gunners to make an even greater purchase effort.
“Watkins is our striker. Although I’ve told you, today is not the day, Emery said, “I know you want to inquire about it.”
After Gabriel Jesus’ season-ending knee injury, Arsenal are searching for a striker.
There is a good chance that Jhon Duran will leave for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr if Watkins, who left Brentford in 2020, is still with Villa when the transfer window closes on Monday.
Emery has mostly replaced the Colombia striker despite some impressive performances this term.
 , ‘A huge challenge ‘
Asked about Duran’s future, Emery wouldn’t rule out selling him in a reported £64 million deal.
The Spaniard said, “I don’t know if Jhon Duran is leaving, but if he is, it is good news for us because he is leaving because it is good money.”
“Tomorrow or Friday we can talk about the transfer. I don’t want to speak until everything is said because everything can happen in football.
Because we need some players, the club is working and trying to compete in the transfer window. Some can leave, but it is not time to speak about it. “
After winning against Young Boys last week, Celtic were already certain to advance to the play-off round.
However, when Real Madrid or Bayern Munich were to become their next opponents, Celtic’s hopes of avoiding one of the tournament’s giants were scuppered.
The team under Brendan Rodgers must wait until the draw on Friday to determine which of the two European heavyweights will prevent them from advancing to the last 16.
The Celtic boss acknowledged that defeating either team would be a difficult task, but he thinks they can cause a major stir.
” We know it’s either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round, so that’ll be a huge challenge, “Rodgers said.
The players deserve it because of the sacrifices they made in the eight games.
We’re gaining more confidence and demonstrating that our team can play and challenge the best players.
Despite a humiliating 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund in October, Celtic have now advanced to the knockout stages for the first time in 12 years.
“Scotland gets a wee bit of stick in its football. You can see that we have some brave players, Rodgers said.
“Pride is the word that most appeals to me right now.” We’re nowhere near the resource levels of teams in the Premier League, but we can still be competitive”.
Source: Channels TV
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