Arsenal are expected to launch a second bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, though numerous sources agree it WON’T be accepted, with The Gunners already opening talks to sign one of three possible alternatives.
Arsenal lodged an official bid worth £60m for Ollie Watkins on Wednesday. The timing of the bid – in the hours preceding Villa’s crunch Champions League clash with Celtic – went down like a lead balloon at Villa Park.
Watkins is a life-long Arsenal fan and would be open to making the switch. What’s more, Sky Sports reporter, Kaveh Solhekol, claims an improved bid is expected to make its way to Villa chiefs.
However, Villa are on the cusp of selling their other centre-forward, Jhon Duran, to Al-Nassr. Duran has agreed a lucrative five-and-a-half year contract and passed a medical in London on Thursday morning.
An agreement on the transfer fee between the clubs worth €77m/£64.4m plus add-ons has also been sealed.
As you might expect, Aston Villa are dead set against losing Duran AND Watkins.
Accordingly, multiple top sources including Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein have confirmed Villa are unlikely in the extreme to sell Watkins to Arsenal – even if they do return with a raised offe
Arsenal are aware their attempts to prise Watkins out of Villa Park aren’t likely to succeed. As such, the club have other irons in the fire and we can confirm they’re among the clubs who’ve opened talks to sign Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich.
The 19-year-old has the green light to leave after requesting an exit. Tel grew frustrated at his lack of action in Munich after playing second fiddle to Harry Kane.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and now Aston Villa too are also exploring a move for Tel.
Man Utd would prefer a loan deal, while Spurs and Chelsea are willing to sign Tel in a deal with a permanent solution attached – be it an outright signing or a loan that contains an option/obligation to buy.
What type of transfer Arsenal are pursuing isn’t yet clear, though what is known is the club have opened talks with their counterparts at Bayern.
A key demand Arsenal will have to convince Tel they can satisfy is regular minutes. Tel will only join a club that make assurances over playing time – something Chelsea and Tottenham both believe they can commit to.
Tel can play on the left wing as well as centre-forward. But whether Arsenal can guarantee Tel he’ll be a regular starter with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz in situ, only time will tell.
Man Utd would prefer a loan deal, while Spurs and Chelsea are willing to sign Tel in a deal with a permanent solution attached – be it an outright signing or a loan that contains an option/obligation to buy.
What type of transfer Arsenal are pursuing isn’t yet clear, though what is known is the club have opened talks with their counterparts at Bayern.
A key demand Arsenal will have to convince Tel they can satisfy is regular minutes. Tel will only join a club that make assurances over playing time – something Chelsea and Tottenham both believe they can commit to.
Tel can play on the left wing as well as centre-forward. But whether Arsenal can guarantee Tel he’ll be a regular starter with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz in situ, only time will tell.
