‘Ollie Watkins to be forced out of Aston Villa’ as damning PSR development emerges
Aston Villa could be set to call time on Ollie Watkins’ spell at Villa Park as PSR concerns come into view ahead of the summer.
The England international has been strongly linked with a departure from B6 in recent weeks after discussing game time concerns in public.
This came as Unai Emery opted against utilising the 29-year-old in either of the Champions League quarter-final clashes against PSG.
Despite coming back into the fold after an injury to Marcus Rashford, there is every chance that the Villans could force him out to ease financial worries.
Watkins could be used as PSR fall guy at Aston Villa
There is no doubt that the forward has been generally excellent since signing from Brentford under Dean Smith back in 2020.
This now sees the Englishman sit level with Gabby Agbonlahor as joint top Premier League goalscorer in the B6 club’s history, which is some achievement.
| Name | Aston Villa Premier League goals |
| Ollie Watkins | 74 |
| Gabby Agbonlahor | 74 |
| Dwight Yorke | 60 |
| Dion Dublin | 48 |
| Juan Pablo Angel | 44 |
With that being said, it could still prove to be the perfect opportunity for both parties to begin new adventures away from each other.
Tom Collomosse reported via the Daily Mail on 7 May that Villa need to make at least one significant sale before June 30 to stay in line with Premier League PSR.
There are no obvious candidates with the Villans having a number of players like Emi Martinez, who may be seen as unsellable by Emery and Co.
As a result, someone like Watkins, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal in months gone by, could prove to be the fall guy in the summer.
If a fee in the region of £60million for the striker, there may be an exhale of breath in relief from the Bodymoor Heath hierarchy moving deeper into the window.
Watkins could seek Arsenal move in summer
After the sale of Jhon Duran, it felt as if the Englishman was going to rediscover his form of last season, where he was simply electric.
This hasn’t truly been the case, partially due to Rashford becoming an Emery favourite before picking up a potentially season-ending injury.
Looking ahead to the summer, a new striker option could be brought in, and that would likely pose bad news for Watkins, who could look to reignite a move to Arsenal.
There were strong links in the winter, and they could be brought back up in the coming weeks as the Villans look to solve PSR worries.