Emery in dreamland as Ornstein confirms Aston Villa ‘finalising’ deal for 50-goal striker

Despite Ollie Watkins recently remaining coy about his Aston Villa future, David Ornstein has confirmed the striker is ‘on the verge’ of signing a new deal with the club.

After his hat-trick against Brighton at the weekend, Watkins said he simply wanted to let his ‘football do the talking’ and keep off-the-pitch matters ‘separate’. His response came after speculation he was progressing towards a new contract at Villa Park.

Now, The Athletic expert Ornstein has revealed that Villa are ‘in the process of finalising’ the new terms for Watkins, who is ‘on the verge’ of putting pen to paper.

The new contract would be due to last until 2028, representing a three-year extension to his existing contract until 2025. Watkins has been with Villa since 2020, previously playing for Exeter City and Brentford.

READ MORE: Door opens for Aston Villa, Brighton to sign skillful winger as Barcelona, Real Madrid poised to ditch interest

Now one of the most in-form forwards in English football with seven goals in 12 games so far this season, he recently brought up his half-century in Villa colours.

One of his rewards was a place in the England squad for the October internationals against Australia and Italy, but the new contract at club level will also act as recognition for his progress.

And given that he will be 32 years old by the time it expires in June 2028, it should cover the prime years of his career, which will be a relief to Villa after he was previously linked with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.

Watkins was a club-record investment for Villa at the time of his arrival after they paid Brentford an initial fee of £28m, rising to £33m. In today’s market, it seems fair to say they have got good value for money out of the centre-forward, despite some eyebrows being raised about the fee at the time.

Unai Emery has been relying on Watkins as his main striker, just like Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard did. There have been rumours that the current head coach might want more proven competition for his no.11, but as long as he is fit and firing, the centre-forward role isn’t too much of an issue.