Aston Villa are eyeing a summer move for the ‘sensational’ forward, with the club now open for a sale.
Villa eye rivals Watkins and Rodgers as new forwards
Villa achieved their goal of qualifying for the Champions League with one game to spare with a 4-2 win over Liverpool last Friday night, sealing their place in Europe’s elite competition.
That’s despite Ollie Watkins being inconsistent at times, scoring just one goal in his opening 13 Premier League games this season, but has since found his form and is now top of the table in terms of goals and assists.
Ranking | Aston Villa combined for a goal and an assist. | number |
1. | ollie watkins | 17 |
2. | morgan rogers | 16 |
3. | John McGinn | 9 |
4. | Emiliano Buendia | 8 |
5. | Matty Cash | 6 |
5. | Lucas Digne | 6 |
As you can see, Watkins and Rodgers are well ahead of the rest of the team, meaning they could be very difficult to replace, and there have been suggestions that the two England internationals could move elsewhere this summer.
Manchester United are particularly keen to sign Rodgers, but there are speculations they would need £80m to get him over the line, underscoring his importance to Unai Emery.
It is hoped the Villans’ return to the Champions League will help persuade both players to stay, but new forwards have been identified as targets ahead of the summer transfer window.
La Liga star enters Villa’s sights
According to a report in Sport (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are currently very keen to sign Real Betis winger Abde Ezarzouri, with the Spanish side accepting a €40 million transfer fee this summer.
Newcastle United are also in the race to sign the former Barcelona player, but despite receiving an ‘offer’, a move to the Premier League has not yet been confirmed. It is not clear which suitors actually made bids.
Emery is known to be a fan of wingers, having scored more goals and assists in La Liga (18 games) than Villa did in the Premier League.
Hailed as “sensational” by journalist Thierry Niang, the Moroccan has an impressive 27 goals and assists in all competitions, but given how dependent they are on Watkins and Rodgers in the Premier League, Villa could probably do something by signing a prolific forward.
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