Roy Keane delivers brutal Ollie Watkins verdict after failed Arsenal bid for Aston Villa ace

Roy Keane has suggested that Ollie Watkins has found ‘his level’ at Aston Villa, questioning whether he’s good enough to join a title-chasing side like Arsenal.

The Gunners submitted a £4om plus add-ons bid for Watkins in January which was quickly laughed off by Villa, who sold Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr shortly after.

Watkins, 29, has notched 13 goals and 11 assists from 38 appearances this season and is a key reason behind Villa’s success since Unai Emery’s arrival at the club.

However, Keane believes that Watkins lacks the killer instinct that strikers at the highest level need to have. Watkins missed a couple of big chances in Villa’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Cardiff City.

The Welsh side’s goalkeeper Ethan Horvath earned player of the match award from ITV broadcasters after a crucial save against Watkins in the first half. During the interval, Keane suggested that Watkins’ failure to convert such chances indicates he may not be ready for the top tier.

“It’s just the decisions when you’re in the box, because I think that he had enough time.”

Fellow pundit Ian Wright agreed with Keane, adding: “It’s just the decisions when you’re in the box, because I think that he had enough time. You can clip that over the trailing leg, because… when you’re doing your football training, you know you’ve got to lift something, because if you try and place it you’ve got to be so accurate.”

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Keane added: “I like Watkins, I think he’s a really good player, I think he’s a threat, but maybe this is his level,” further suggesting that Watkins may not ascend to the ranks of top-tier strikers.

Amid the debate discussion, presenter Mark Pougatch asked if a missed opportunity was what separated a very good striker from a top-level one. Keane replied: “I think so. I’m sure he’ll get chances in the second half, and he might take them, but in those moments you’ve got to cash in there.”

Arsenal unlikely to bid again for Ollie Watkins – sources

TEAMtalk understands that Arsenal’s bid for Watkins was one more of opportunism than expectation, and it always seemed unlikely that Aston Villa would sanction his departure mid-season.

Some sources have speculated over whether the bid was made to unsettle the forward and prompt him to pursue an Emirates switch in the summer.

However, as we have consistently reported, Arsenal’s top striker target for the summer is RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko.

The Gunners are big admirers of Newcastle ace Alexander Isak too, but they know it will be near impossible to sign him this summer, especially if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League.

If Newcastle miss out on UCL qualification, we understand that Newcastle could demand up to £150m for Isak – whether anyone would be willing to match that valuation is as yet unclear.

Watkins clearly has admirers at Arsenal but the feeling from sources is that Arsenal want a younger profile of forward.

The England international is under contract at Villa until 2028 and everything points towards him staying this summer.

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