Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Arsenal are considering making a move for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
A lack of a top striker capable of scoring regularly is beginning to hurt the Gunners’ title chances and they are now looking for solutions.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney is one possibility, although there are concerns about his lack of match fitness after his lengthy ban. And his image may also pose a problem for Mikel Arteta who prefers players with a clean disciplinary record.
And that is why contact has reportedly been made with the representatives of Ollie Watkins, who is a self-confessed Arsenal fan, although his hat-trick against Brighton may just have increased his price.
Prising him away from Villa in the January transfer window may be difficult, but his contract situation offers a hope that a solution can be found. Villa have been trying to negotiate a new deal with him for over a year, but discussions remain deadlocked over his salary demands.
If they are considering making a move for either player, they could find themselves up against a familiar adversary in the transfer market, with Chelsea also keeping tabs on the pair.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.