Aston Villa reject Arsenal approach for Watkins

Arsenal approached Aston Villa to sign England international Ollie Watkins, but the club turned down the offer.

Sources told BBC Sport that the 29-year-old was the subject of a Monday enquiry from the Gunners.

Just before Aston Villa’s Champions League victory over Celtic on Wednesday night at Villa Park, reports of a £60 million offer first surfaced.

Watkins started and scored in the second half, but he also slipped to miss a bizarre penalty.

With all the speculation linking fellow striker Jhon Duran to a move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, villa sources claim they have no intention of letting Watkins leave.

Villa are unhappy with the approach, which was made ahead of a crucial Champions League game and a week before the transfer deadline day, according to sources close to the matter.

It is not clear if Arsenal will return with further offers before Monday’s 23: 00 GMT deadline.

Unai Emery, the manager of Villa, said he “did not know” if Duran was leaving, but that the Saudi Pro League club had reported him to be interested in joining. “If he’s leaving, it’s good news for us because they’re paying good money and we developed him in two years.”

On Watkins, Emery added: “I don’t want. Every player is available in the event that it benefits the player, the club, and the team. However, Watkins is our striker and we will also be very demanding to obtain this deal.

Watkins scored the winning goal in Villa’s 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium this month, and he has 11 goals in 32 games this season.

Since leaving Brentford for £28 million in 2020, the England international has scored 80 goals in 200 games for the Midlands club.

Gabriel Jesus is out with a serious knee injury he sustained in the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United this month, so the Gunners are searching for a new striker before the transfer window closes.

Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, stated on Friday that the team “need some help” this season with their attack.

He said the club were “actively looking” to sign a striker who was able to “make an impact” after losing both Bukayo Saka and Jesus to long-term injuries.

“So we lack goals, we lack people, we lack options in the frontline, it’s clear”, Arteta said.

The Gunners are six points ahead of Liverpool in the table, who also have a game in hand, in the pursuit of the Premier League title for the third time in a row.