Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been told that they would improve with the signing of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.
That’s the view of former Blues defender Mario Melchiot, who is a huge fan of Watkins’ qualities as he continues to produce some superb form for Villa and make a strong claim for an England place in Euro 2024 this summer.
Watkins scored 15 league goals last season and has 10 in 22 top flight appearances so far this term, and it seems clear he could be a really dangerous goal-scorer if he had the improved service he’d surely benefit from at a bigger club.
Arsenal in particular have looked short of a clinical finisher to put away the numerous high-quality chances they create in almost every game, while Chelsea will also surely see that as an area of weakness this season as youngsters Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja have failed to make an impression.
Man Utd, meanwhile, signed talented youngster Rasmus Hojlund in the summer, though they could perhaps do well to bring in a more proven Premier League player like Watkins after a slow start by the Denmark international.
Melchiot exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone that he’d view it as a no-brainer to sign Watkins for any of those three clubs as he praised the way he’s proven to be a bit of a late bloomer at this level.
“If I had to take any Aston Villa player out of that team and place them into Chelsea’s, I want goals, so my first thought would be Ollie Watkins,” Melchiot said.
“Top teams might have overlooked him in the past because there’s always this obsession with signing players who come in and hit the ground running immediately, whereas it’s take Watkins a bit of time to really find his feet.
“But you might look at three quality Premier League sides in Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United and ask what all of them need right now, and the answer is the same: a striker. A goalscorer. And Ollie Watkins could be exactly that.”
Villa will surely do all they can to keep Watkins as part of their future plans as the 28-year-old could be key to helping Unai Emery’s side continue to challenge for a place in the top four.
Still, we know that big clubs tend to pounce on top performing players from the so-called smaller sides, even when they do well, so there will surely be teams sniffing…
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