Unai Emery says Ollie Watkins ‘happy to stay’ at Aston Villa
The club are reportedly interested in signing Marcus Rashford on loan.
Unai Emery insists Ollie Watkins is happy to stay at Aston Villa, who are reportedly considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
Villa turned down a bid from Arsenal for England striker Watkins earlier this week, reported to be in the region of £60million.
And according to reports, Villa are interested in bringing in out-of-favour Rashford on loan before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Rashford has been frozen out of Ruben Amorim’s squad, with the United boss saying after Sunday’s win over Fulham he would rather select 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital.
United declined to comment on Villa’s reported interest in Rashford when contacted by the PA news agency, while Villa have been approached for comment.
Striker Jhon Duran has left Villa to join Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in a deal understood to be worth up to £71million, but Emery says Watkins will be staying at Villa Park.
“Yes, he is happy to stay,” the Spaniard said. “You can ask him, but we asked him how he is feeling every day, every year he has been here with Aston Villa, with us and without us.
“We talked with him and he is very focused on the message we have.
“The commitment of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment, he appreciates a lot how Aston Villa was always supporting him, helping him and when we joined him here two years ago, how we worked with him, always trying to get the best of him.
“Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa. The conversation we are having usually, I am speaking with him a lot, he is always adapting of every circumstance we have in the squad and individually with him.
“When there are some teams calling us being interested in the players of course it is very good for us and very good for the players.
“Some players prefer to leave and some players accept to stay here, to be here and commit with us here and to be with our challenge. One of those is Ollie Watkins.”
Duran’s move to Al Nassr was confirmed on Friday, with the fee for the Colombia international, who has agreed a deal until 2030, the second biggest Villa have received behind the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish.
Villa are also interested in Chelsea’s Joao Felix and Paris St Germain’s Marco Asensio, but can only bring in players if it is financially viable.
President of football operations Monchi revealed in an interview with Spanish radio that Emery has always been a big fan of Portugal forward Felix.
“There are names, one of them being Joao,” he told El Larguero. “Emery likes him, because in the three transfer markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery.
“But it is complicated and I don’t know if we will be able to be there.
“He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery has been able to recover players who were considered lost in his history as a coach and he trusts in Joao’s talent.”
