Arsenal or Man Utd? Romano drops transfer update on 'fuming' Watkins

Tom Weber

Updated: 21 Apr 2025 10:22 CDT
4 min read

Fabrizio Romano insists that Ollie Watkins is happy at Aston Villa despite his recent outburst over losing his starting berth.

The England international has been Aston Villa's undisputed star striker ever since he joined the club in 2020. However, he has recently had to contend with an unusual place on the bench.

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STATS

Ollie Watkins

F (C)

Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins

F (C)

Aston Villa

48

Games
16

Goals
13

Assists

In January, the Villans signed three attacking reinforcements, who have given head coach Unai Emery more options, and he has made sure to fully utilise all the players at his disposal.

This led to Watkins losing his starting place in Villa's Champions League tie with PSG, which the Birmingham side ultimately lost despite claiming victory in the second leg.

Watkins, who has recorded a whopping 16 goals and 13 assists this season, bounced back against Newcastle at the weekend by notching a goal and assist in an emphatic 4-1 thumping. After the match, he vented his frustration.

Watkins content at Aston Villa

In an unusually candid interview, the 29-year-old admitted that his Champions League omissions left him incensed "I was fuming I wasn't playing," Watkins told Sky Sports. "I let [Emery] know that. He's the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision.

"But I'm not one of the players happy to sit on the bench. It's something I haven't experienced before and then to miss out on the biggest stage, you always want to play, especially in the Champions League. Me and a few others are disappointed we didn't start the game, but like I said, it's the manager's decision.

© IMAGO - January signing Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins

"We did end up beating them, but obviously not across both legs. The team played really well, but I wanted to be out on the pitch much longer, I wanted to be starting in the important games because I've played a big part to get to where we are today."

However, despite this outburst, Fabrizio Romano reports that Watkins remains happy and fully committed to Aston Villa. "They’re happy with Watkins and he’s happy at the club," he told GIVEMESPORT. "Then if a proposal comes, never say never - as it was the case in January."

Arsenal made a surprise approach for Watkins in January, but the offer was rejected by Aston Villa. FootballTransfers understands that the Gunners remain interested in the boyhood Gooner. We recently revealed that Man Utd are also admirers of the England star.

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