Aston Villa: £50m+ Ollie Watkins transfer on cards as FFP concerns emerge at Villa Park
Aston Villa would struggle to turn down bids upwards of £50million for Ollie Watkins this summer as financial fair play concerns emerge at Villa Park, according to Alan Hutton.
The England international has been in fine form for Unai Emery’s side this season, scoring 16 goals and laying on 10 assists in just 28 Premier League appearances to help Villa climb into the top four and the Champions League places.
Watkins’ good form however has seen him linked with a potential move away from Villa Park this summer, with Roy Keane suggesting he could play for the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool and take the next step in his career.
Villa’s recent set of financial accounts has led to suggestions that Emery may be forced to sell Watkins this summer [iNews, 5 March]. While Hutton has admitted that is a possibility, he believes it will take a “huge” bid to force their hand.
“It would have to be a huge bid,” Hutton Villa News.
“It would have to be upwards of £50million. When you’re thinking about the valuations of the likes of Ivan Toney, they were upwards of nearly £100million so where do you put Ollie Watkins?
“Some would put him in front of Toney in terms of an England call-up and things so it would have to be a huge number in my opinion. That being said, we would have to see what teams we’re talking about and whether would it be a move that he fancies.
“I would hate to see him leave, I think he’s crucial to what Villa do moving forward as he gives you so much. Not just his goal-scoring but his link-up play, how hard he works for the team and he’s a genuinely good guy as well so he’d be a huge miss.
“I genuinely don’t want to see him go. I think Villa are building for the future and he’s a huge part of that and I think he feels the love there.
“But when a huge offer comes in, it is something that is difficult to turn down, but it would have to be really big.”
Will Aston Villa need to sell Ollie Watkins amid interest from Manchester United?
As Hutton suggested, Villa and Emery are building a project for the future currently at Villa Park and keeping the brightest talent in the squad is a key part of making sure that the Villans can continue to progress season after season.
But with profit and sustainability restrictions becoming such a key part of the sport, Villa cannot afford to reject big offers should they arrive for the likes of Watkins and potentially Douglas Luiz.
Emery and those in charge at Villa Park will likely do all that they can to keep their star men beyond the end of the season, but as Hutton said, big offers are very difficult for teams to turn down, especially when point deductions could be looming.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery is understood to be ready to take Villa to the “next level” with his transfer plans at Villa Park
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