Arsenal made a late January bid to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as they look to replace Gabriel Jesus.
The Gunners are on the search to sign a striker this month due to an ACL injury that Jesus suffered earlier in January. He will likely be out for the remainder of the season.
In recent weeks, they have been linked to Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, but they turned their attention to Premier League star Ollie Watkins.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed on X that Arsenal saw a £60m bid rejected by Aston Villa for Watkins. He said: “Aston Villa have rejected today an official bid from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins. Proposal around £60m turned down as Villa are not happy with timing of the bid.”
Arsenal fans took to social media to react to the news, as a Watkins move to Arsenal could help solve their striker woes…
I mean they are right, how stupid of us to make this bid so late. Why didn’t we do this in the beginning of the window? What happened to we need to sell before we buy? 😂
— Le African Gooner (@leafricangooner) January 29, 2025
But why did Arsenal wait till now ?
— OB (@CFC_OBED) January 29, 2025
Watkins is perfect for Arsenal. He’s the missing piece for them to win the League and Champions League. Front 3 of Saka, Watkins and Nwaneri and they win everything. £80m should do it for him. They have to pull it off.
— el connoisseur ⚡ 🍷 (@_BTCconnoisseur) January 29, 2025
I’m not sure of how to feel about this news. I’ll take Watkins at the right price but I think £60m is too much for a 29 year old with no resale value.
— Acetyl CoA (@phychem11) January 29, 2025
We need Oshimen. I don’t know who the analysts are at Arsenal. Obviously, they don’t watch football or have silly biases that shut down their ability to critically understand what the young team needs now. Watkins is fast passing his prime. He is good but Oshimen is the real deal
— Elkino Kadash ÅÑÝÄ (@ELkinoshe) January 29, 2025
This would be a proper statement if we manage to land Ollie. Aston villa are just trying to increase the price by rejecting it. Give em a bigger bag of cash and they will let Ollie leave.
— londonisred.com (@LondonIsRedCom) January 29, 2025
Would love Watkins
— Keith Namu 🌻 (@keithnamu) January 29, 2025
Aston Villa could replace Ollie Watkins with Chelsea attacker
If Arsenal manage to pull of a deal for Watkins in the remaining days of the transfer window, Villa may look elsewhere to land a replacement for the England international.
Chelsea were reportedly in talks with Villa to swap attacker Joao Felix in order to sign Jhon Duran, but seeing as Duran looks more likely to move to Saudi Arabia, Villa could view Felix as a replacement for Watkins.
The Portuguese attacker has made just 12 appearances for Chelsea this season, and if they could make a move for him, it would leave Villa less reluctant to sell Watkins to Arsenal.