Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins could be subject to plenty of transfer interest this summer having been touted to be replaced at Aston Villa as Steven Gerrard’s men look set for another season of heavy spending.
In his time at Villa Park, Watkins has scored 26 goals and created six assists in 73 matches since joining from Brentford in the summer of 2020 for a then club-record fee of £28m with the potential to rise up to £33m.
West Ham United are the favourites to sign Watkins with it being well known that the Hammers are looking to add competition for Michail Antonio.
Antonio has scored 12 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions, whilst Watkins has 10 in 33, meaning that they are both reasonably well matched to give each other a push for the role as West Ham’s main striker.
The Irons do typically like a striker with good link-up play, like Antonio who has 10 assists this campaign, especially when utilising the 5-2-2-1 formation or even a 4-2-3-1 setup. This is something that Watkins has shown during his time at Villa, having occasionally featured on the wing.
Arsenal have also been linked with a move for Watkins, as the Gunners are publicly known to be looking to bolster their attacking options.
With both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette both out of contract and the former being known to be frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities, Mikel Arteta’s side could well be on the lookout for two strikers.
Gabriel Jesus is a striker that the Gunners are said to be in contact with over a transfer due to the announcement that Erling Haaland will be joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, meaning that they may potentially be priced out of a move for Dominic Calvert-Lewin by Everton.
Last season, Watkins notably impressed against Arsenal, firing in a brace as Villa sealed a memorable 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium and may have caught Arteta’s eye with that performance amongst many that has seen the Three Lions international nearly average 0.35 goals per game for the Villains.
Newcastle could be set for a busy transfer window as Eddie Howe looks to further strengthen his squad following the takeover from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
Despite already having the likes of Callum Wilson and Chris Wood, neither of these two are players that they can rely on, with the former missing 35 games for Newcastle due to injury since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, which is a shame considering the ex-Bournemouth striker has a decent scoring record, finding the back of the net 18 times in 44 appearances.
Meanwhile, Wood has struggled to have an impact since moving to Tyneside from Burnley in January for £25m, scoring twice in 16 appearances.
With Wood and Wilson both being 30-years of age, Watkins joining could see the Magpies freshen their squad up in terms of age due to him being 26-years-old.
Newcastle are priced at 10/1 to acquire Watkins in the summer transfer window.
The final team on this list are Leicester City, who have also been linked with a move for Watkins as Brendan Rodgers’ aims to bolster his attacking options following an underwhelming campaign for the Foxes.
Jamie Vardy has managed 14 goals in 30 matches, showing that he is still clinical at the age of 35, but, the former Fleetwood Town man has been prone to injuries. Meanwhile, Patson Daka has struggled to adapt to life at the King Power Stadium, managing 11 goals in 37 games, of which three of these came via a hat-trick against Spartak Moscow.
Kelechi Iheanacho has managed eight goals in 42 games, with the Nigerian striker tending to blow hot and cold when it comes to goalscoring form.
The addition of Watkins would add more competition, as well as a fourth out and out striker option at Leicester if he was to sign from Villa in the summer.
Watkins is priced at 16/1 to trade Villa Park for the King Power Stadium.
