Unai Emery says Ollie Watkins is happy to stay at Aston Villa, ruling out a potential departure this window.
Watkins had been the subject of interest from Arsenal on Monday, which was swiftly rebuffed by Villa. News of Arsenal’s overtures were leaked two days later, which angered Villa’s senior staff, given it was just hours before the key Champions League fixture against Celtic.
Jhon Duran’s impending move to Al Nassr is expected to be completed on Friday, leaving Watkins as the club’s sole traditional striker. He is Villa’s top scorer in the league and Emery, speaking ahead of the trip to Molineux on Saturday, is “happy to stay” at the club this window.
“The commitment of Watkins with us is a huge commitment to defend Aston Villa,” said Emery. “He appreciates a lot how Aston Villa was always supporting him, helping him. When we joined here two years ago, how we worked with him — we are always trying to get the best of him. Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa in the last years. The conversations we are having with him, he’s always adapting to every circumstance we have.
“Of course when some teams call us being interested in the players, it’s very good for us. Some players prefer to leave. Some players accept to be here and commit to us here and one of them is Ollie Watkins.”
Watkins has scored 11 goals and has registered nine assists across 32 appearances this season. When asked whether he could completely guarantee the 29-year-old remaining a Villa player, Emery said that was the case.
“He’s happy to stay. You can ask him but we asked him how he’s feeling every day and every year with Aston Villa and he’s happy here.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, was asked about his club’s potential deal for Watkins at a news conference earlier on Friday and said: “Not gonna talk about it. We are proactively looking.”
GO DEEPER
Uncertainty gripped the futures of Duran and Watkins – Rogers stepped forward
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
