Man Utd being told to cough up £100m plus Rashford speaks volumes

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reviews the Nottingham Forest game

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been jokingly told that he would have to find £100million and exchange Marcus Rashford if he wants Ollie Watkins at Old Trafford. While former Villa forward Stan Collymore said the comment tongue in cheek it speaks volumes about how highly rated the 27-year-old forward has become at Villa Park.

Watkins has put in the hard yards in English football starting at Exeter City and he spent a loan spell at non-league side Weston-super-Mare as a youngster. Brentford noticed his talent tying him into a four-year deal before Villa spent a club-record £28million on the forward in September 2020 and gave him a five-year contract.

The forward is in the form of his life and has played his part in 13 Villa goals during the last 12 Premier League matches and scored 11 during the same time. Only £51.2million Manchester City star Erling Haaland has scored more league goals since the Premier League restarted following the World Cup in Qatar.

Watkins’ 12 goals in 17 games gives him an average of 0.71 goals per game) which is better than England striker Harry Kane who has netted 14 in 22 (in all competitions) over the same period. Rashford can match the Villa starlet across all competitions with his 20 goals from 28 matches also working out at 0.71 goals per game.

Watkins sees himself as a number 10 and has previously commented about basing his game on driving at defenders like Thierry Henry. England manager Gareth Southgate has rotated players in the 10 role alongside Kane and was in attendance as Watkins tore Newcastle United to shreds on Saturday.

The Magpies were unable to cope with the 27-year-old who hit the post after 28 seconds before scoring two second-half goals in their 3-0 victory which left the visitors stunned. Watkins has made just seven England appearances so far but could be playing himself into Southgate’s plans for Euro qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia in June.

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With two years left on his contract Watkins’ stock could not be higher after helping his side into sixth in the Premier League and firmly in contention to fight for the European spots in the coming weeks. One United supporter asked former Villa player and now pundit Collymore how much the forward would cost? Collymore jokingly replied: “£100m plus Rashford. Sounds about right…”

Villa boss Unai Emery is set to send a clear hands-off warning to their Premier League opponents when the summer transfer window opens. When asked how close Watkins is to signing a new contract, Emery responded: “Ah, OK… But I don’t speak about it.”

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