The entirety of the summer has seen any and all Aston Villa players supposedly linked to Manchester United. A lot of the prior weeks had Emiliano Martínez as the new keeper for Ruben Amorim. And while Ollie Watkins has also been included in such speculations, the media interest and intensity are now fully focused on the striker, using much of the same reasoning as was used for the Villa keeper.
Depending on which outlet, people believe that Villa will be forced to sell Watkins due to PSR, lack of interest in remaining in B6, and wanting to join 'the better club.'
Forget that at this point in time, when looking at aspects on the pitch, United is actually a step down. Amorim is yet to prove that his philosophy will work in the Premier League. Last season, despite the last Matchday of the campaign, there were far more matches in which United looked incapable of being able to mount a serious threat anytime soon.
Now, Villa is continuing to grow momentum, and the potential of a two-striker look makes it that much better for Watkins. It is Villa also who are playing in Europe. With most of the same cast, they are poised to have a good 2025-2026.
Watkins knows what is expected of him under Unai Emery. He is already familiar with what the Spaniard is looking for, despite the new potential formation. Heading to United for what is still a complete experiment at this point is something that would not make sense for the England international.
Lack of need for Aston Villa to sell forward
Others are also using PSR as the reason to make the case as to why this move is supposedly needed. That financial aspect is a real point of consideration that has to be taken seriously. The selling of Aston Villa Women stakes, however, is one that averted that issue. While the selling of a player could help provide a more comfortable operating cushion, there is no immediate need for Villa to sell anyone.
This is nothing more than yet another attempt to take away a Villa player on a deal that does not truly value the player's worth in order to boost an otherwise undeserving side.