Arsenal switch sights to second Aston Villa attacker as Ollie Watkins move fizzled out

Arsenal are reportedly eyeing the signing of Aston Villa star Jacob Ramsey after they failed to land his Villans team-mate Ollie Watkins in January, and they may decide not to go back for him.

The Gunners were clear in their desire to land a new attacker in January. Mikel Arteta had stated as much, after seeing both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus sidelined for long periods.

The likes of Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko would have been impossible for Arsenal – or any other side – to get, so they went after Villa’s Watkins.

A £40million bid was not close to luring the Midlanders into negotiations, but Arteta’s side are now keen on Watkins’ team-mate Ramsey, per TBRFootball.

It is believed both Arsenal and Liverpool want to sign the Villa man, who’s held in high regard amid Unai Emery’s regime.

Both are said to be keeping close tabs on Ramsey’s progress, and have been ‘hugely impressed’ with what they’ve seen.

After coming through as central midfielder, the Villa man has played largely as a left-midfielder/winger this term, and has two goals and four assists in all competitions, having also missed more than a month through injury.

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Watkins move fizzled out

Fabrizio Romano has stated that two of the strikers who Arsenal would have wanted to sign in January if possible, Sesko and Isak, will be pursued again in the summer.

“But Arsenal understood it was almost impossible to make it happen now, so these two names – Isak and Sesko – remain for the summer,” he said.

He also mentioned the approach for Watkins, but there was no suggestion of the Gunners picking that move back up: “Arsenal tried for Watkins a few days ago, but Aston Villa were furious [about the bid arriving] before the Champions League game [vs Celtic].

“Also the transfer fee: £60m add-ons included, were not enough to convince Aston Villa.

“Unai Emery wanted the player to stay and Jhon Duran going to Al-Nassr also had an impact. For Villa, money was no longer needed.”

The reaction from Villa means Watkins is likely to safely remain one of their players, and with Ramsey again becoming important after his injury, it’s likely his situation will be similar.

Aston Villa round-up: Rashford could use Villa stepping stone

Villa landed Marcus Rashford on loan at the back end of the January window, and though they have the option to sign him permanently for £40million beyond that, TEAMtalk is aware the forward remains interested in a move abroad, and therefore Villa could be a stepping stone for him.

It is believed by Keith Wyness that if Rashford plays well at Villa and is signed, he could go for £80-100million down the line, with the Saudi Pro League remaining an option for him.

TEAMtalk sources have revealed that Villa left their loan move for Axel Disasi until late on deadline day as they were hoping Chelsea’s loan demands of £5million would drop.

In any case, the centre-back only had eyes for Villa, having accepted the move days before, and though Tottenham were also in the mix, had Disasi not been able to move to Villa Park, he’d have chosen to stay at Chelsea rather than go to Spurs.

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