There might be light at the end of the tunnel for Manchester United in their hunt for a capable striker this summer.
Rasmus Hojlund is not the player Ruben Amorim wants, while his preferred option, Viktor Gyokeres, chose Arsenal over the Red Devils.
Liam Delap, whom Jason Wilcox pushed for, ended up moving to Chelsea while Victor Osimhen’s wage demands meant United stayed away as the Nigerian sealed a return to Galatasaray.
The two names being most frequently linked with a move to Old Trafford currently are Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko.
The Slovenian is young, which fits INEOS’ profile, but his asking price remains substantial while Newcastle are also pushing for his signature.
Striker hunt
The issue with going after Watkins is also along similar lines, with Villa asking for as much as £60 million, while the Red Devils value him at around £40-£45 million.
Even then, recent reports had suggested that Unai Emery would refuse to sanction the 29-year-old’s sale given the lack of firepower in their ranks.
But TBR Football have claimed otherwise. As per their report, Villa are looking at alternatives in the market as they are aware the England international wants to leave and join the 20-time English league champions.
“Ollie Watkins has options and Aston Villa are looking at their options too – there is a real chance that he could leave Villa Park this summer, and Man United like him a lot – he is seen as a very good fit.”
Villa U-turn
United have already signed two Premier League-proven performers in the form of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and Ollie Watkins would be the perfect signing.
It must be remembered that the Villa striker was close to being sold in January, when Arsenal submitted a bid for him.
Also, Marcus Rashford had overtaken him in the pecking order last season. This clearly indicates that Watkins is a disposable asset and Emery wants to bring in someone else.
This is great news, as this indicates that should INEOS submit a significant offer, Watkins will leave. But coughing up the money will be a different challenge.
So far, player sales have been hard to figure out for the Old Trafford side, but if the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho, or Alejandro Garnacho are sold, a deal could materialise quite quickly.
Feature image Richard Heathcote via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
