Not the first option on our shopping list, but Ollie would be a nice acquisition. But 60m for him is absurd.
Ollie Watkins | United possibly interested
- Thread starter Berbaclass
- Start date
-
Nik (@Rood), Jamie (@Vault Dweller) and Ed (@That'sHernandez) give their end of season awards out! They celebrate the best players, goals and moments of the season (there were some, honestly) and also give out awards for the worst and most disappointing players/moments of the season.
They then discuss all the latest transfer rumours and get into the potential ins and outs this summer at Old Trafford.
Yeah £35m plus addons is fair
We certainly don't need someone who is inclined to come towards the ball, having just acquired Cunha who wants to operate between the lines and pick up the ball to feet. Our no.9 needs to want to lead the line and stretch the pitch. Watkins does that and does it well, and he's a fairly well-rounded striker overall - offering more than either Rashford or Hojlund both in terms of playing with his back to goal and in offering a threat in behind.
That's a very static way of looking at things, Amorim (as most coaches these days) has a more dynamic setup where depending on the build up it'll either be the 9 or 10s dropping. We won't be bringing in a striker without a well rounded game.
I think Arsenal may go for him after they miss out on their top targets (if they can’t get Gyokeres)
It's hard to imagine they won't get either of their top 2 targets (Gyokeres/Sesko). In their weakest position no less, that's the one position you'd expect them to bite the bullet and just pay what's needed (eventually) to get the player they want.
Some feel this will be dead in the water now that Villa have followed in Chelsea's lead by selling Women's team
They might still need to sell if they want to add players for the Europa League, after the uefa ruling against them and Chelsea. I imagine they'll try and shift someone else before Watkins though
Yeah Bailey would the most likely
This will be the deadline day drama, you know it...
Don't want to be involved in anything that late
By that date i'll wager we'll be praying for a deadline day striker.
It's just basic balance. Players have their natural strengths and tendencies, and you want to place them in a role within the team where they can provide said strengths, in conjuction with teammates who are also in roles where they can utilise their own skills and wants.
Aim for symbiotic relationships, and if you have a group of attacking players who excel going both ways (both coming towards the ball/ looking to receive it to feet and stretching the pitch/ providing penetrative off the ball runs) then yes, sure, allow and encourage them to do both.
We don't have that. Cunha wants to play between the lines. Not that he will never make a run in behind or anything like that, but he's overwhelmingly inclined to come towards the ball. He wants it to feet. So we should be looking to compliment him with someone who predominantly wants to go the other way.
Probably our best option. Maybe even better than Gyokeres in our current situation. For max 50m I would be happy.
What an absolute messBy that date i'll wager we'll be praying for a deadline day striker.
£50m for a player that turns 30 in December sounds like awful business to me.
I imagine the fee Arsenal pay for Gyokores won't be too far from that.
Just pay £45m if that's what it takes, heck even £50m including addons as just utterly desperate
I think he got 3 years at top level in him. For 50m and 170k per week salary that would not be that bad and not that big of a risk.
Suppose it depends if he still carries that gripe he got when they picked Rashford ahead of him
Since when is wasting 50m not that big of a risk? I think he is an okay striker but we can do better. It doesn't make sense to target an old striker when we really should be looking 27 and under as the team isn't ready to compete right now.
He's very slow (pace and movements), I don't like him at all.
Turning 30 this year and is heavily reliant on his pace/running in behind. Doesn't fit the mold of an Anorim striker and has maybe 1 top season left in him.
No for anything over 35m.
No for anything over 35m.
Watkins isn't slow
I know swap deals aren't all that common, but with Garnacho insisting on staying in the PL and no top teams really needing a player of his profile, I wonder if Villa would be in for him? That could open the possibility of some kind of swap.
Watkins on a 3+1 year deal, even if we are paying him 150-175K per week, would be decent business. He would guarantee around 20 goals a season at least for a couple of seasons. He won't win us the league but he can get us back into the CL.
And then a couple of years down the line we can see where we are with the CF situation. How Chido is developing, and if Hojlund is sent on loan, how he does etc?
Watkins would be a logical signing, which makes me think we won't be able to do it.
Watkins on a 3+1 year deal, even if we are paying him 150-175K per week, would be decent business. He would guarantee around 20 goals a season at least for a couple of seasons. He won't win us the league but he can get us back into the CL.
And then a couple of years down the line we can see where we are with the CF situation. How Chido is developing, and if Hojlund is sent on loan, how he does etc?
Watkins would be a logical signing, which makes me think we won't be able to do it.
Considering we're talking about one of the Premier League's most productive forwards—who also has an outstanding injury record—that doesn't sound like bad business at all. On top of that, Watkins still has three years left on his contract, which strengthens Villa’s negotiating position and adds weight to the valuation.
For me, if we manage to bring in Watkins alongside Cunha and hopefully Mbeumo, we'd be building one of the strongest attacking trios in the league. That kind of firepower could absolutely push us into the top four—which, let's be honest, is worth its weight in gold.
Different circumstances, of course, but it’s worth remembering that we signed Robin van Persie at 29 for £24 million, with just one year left on his contract. At the time, many questioned the fee—citing his age, injury record, and contract duration. But his impact was transformative, pretty much winning us the league.
Now, I’m not saying Watkins would replicate that exactly—this is a very different team but his potential influence could be just as vital. He may not be the final piece of the puzzle, but he could be one of the most important ones.
What is the maximum you would pay for him?
This post shows you've never seen him play.
He isnt my first choice but 35-40 mil for him would be a good deal and make us quite a bit better. I know a lot of us like to get hung up on buying younger players for thier resale, but we need to stop focusing on that because it's almost never worked out for us. Either they are good and they dont leave until they're past it or they're trash and we take a loss on them anyway. Lets just focus on getting guys that make us better for the next 2-3 seasons (which Watkins definitely does) and worry about the rest later.
Normally I would agree with you - but we cant sign another 30 year old for £50-60 million..its a waste of money. For that kind of money you can sign most good 25 year old strikers outside the 15-20 best teams in Europe.
RVP came into a side who had just lost out on the title by goal difference.
While his impact was vital in terms of us winning the league, he didn't "transform" the team. It was already a side that had finished 1st or 2nd for the previous 7 seasons in a row.
And after his league-winning first season, RVP then dropped off in exactly the way we worry older signings will drop off, despite "only" being 30 years old.
If we sign Watkins and he has similar trajectory to RVP, he will have been a disaster. Because we're not in a position where we will achieve enough next season to justify just one good season from any signing. Especially not one who costs anything remotely near £50m.
While his impact was vital in terms of us winning the league, he didn't "transform" the team. It was already a side that had finished 1st or 2nd for the previous 7 seasons in a row.
And after his league-winning first season, RVP then dropped off in exactly the way we worry older signings will drop off, despite "only" being 30 years old.
If we sign Watkins and he has similar trajectory to RVP, he will have been a disaster. Because we're not in a position where we will achieve enough next season to justify just one good season from any signing. Especially not one who costs anything remotely near £50m.
As everyone else is saying, this is a signing that would improve us for the next few years and at the very least push us up the table towards European places, which at the very least is our goal right now.
It's very much a walk don't run situation and that makes it boring but he brings a lot of experience. It's also imperative we don't lean too heavily on another young, Hojlund-esque striker who needs time to learn.
It's very much a walk don't run situation and that makes it boring but he brings a lot of experience. It's also imperative we don't lean too heavily on another young, Hojlund-esque striker who needs time to learn.
Last edited:
I know swap deals aren't all that common, but with Garnacho insisting on staying in the PL and no top teams really needing a player of his profile, I wonder if Villa would be in for him? That could open the possibility of some kind of swap.
Watkins on a 3+1 year deal, even if we are paying him 150-175K per week, would be decent business. He would guarantee around 20 goals a season at least for a couple of seasons. He won't win us the league but he can get us back into the CL.
And then a couple of years down the line we can see where we are with the CF situation. How Chido is developing, and if Hojlund is sent on loan, how he does etc?
Watkins would be a logical signing, which makes me think we won't be able to do it.
I think a swap with Garna would be horrific business for us.
I like Watkins, but wouldn’t pay more than £30m for him. I know that won’t get him - but we also need to understand there are options outside the PL.
He’s is not the right player.
I guess the issue is that if he declines quickly, or just doesn't make the grade, then he can quite quickly become another highly paid millstone around the club's neck. I'd assume that a relatively high scoring England international on his last 'big' contract will be on a fair whack. But what else can you do? You can sign younger players from abroad, on lower wages, who (hopefully) have a decent resale value, but that could end up being Hojlund Mark II
Yeah, I understand there’s no perfect solution but I can’t think of many fans who would have been unhappy if we’d had a 31-year-old Ollie Watkins, even if he was past his peak, sitting on our bench to choose from last year.
Our main problem with strikers right now has tended to be a lack of options and hopefully that’s something we gradually address over the next couple of years, starting with somebody who helps score goals next season (god we need that).
I like to think we wouldn’t just sign someone like Watkins and rely entirely on him for the next three seasons. It makes sense to bring in an established player like him first, while also scouting young talent who can eventually step up and take over.
PS - Not discounting Cunha, and Mbeumo if we sign him. Both will score goals but a proper striker will go a long way to improving our attack. I can't see Hojlund doing that next year and Chido is young. Maybe he'll be the long term option though.
Last edited:
Watkins would obviously be an awesome addition.
Try telling the PL proven obsessed INEOS that's the case
Better than what we’ve got, but £50m+ for a 29yr old who at best has plateaued and more likely now on the decline doesn’t seem good business
£30m plus a few £million in add ons would be very acceptable
£30m plus a few £million in add ons would be very acceptable
Last edited:
I can understand if we want to sign a 30 year old world class striker hoping that he will still have 3 to 4 years at the top for us even though we are going to spend a lot of money. But Watkins? Ffs!
Who do you think is CF outside the PL we can get for less than 60-70 million who would improve us for sure?
Watkins is as near a certainty for 20 goals as we can get for a couple of years at least. We are not in a position to take a punt on young forwards.
And I didn't necessarily mean a straight swap with Garnacho. Maybe we could get some money or incorporate a high sell on clause.
Net fee of £25m would work for us but not sure if Villa would bite