Arsenal have been linked with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, but it seems Fabrizio Romano is not entirely convinced by these particular transfer rumours.
Writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Romano insisted that clubs would need to respect the exciting project at Villa, with the club’s ambitions really starting to come off since the appointment of Unai Emery as manager.
Watkins will surely be a key part of that, with the 27-year-old showing himself to be one of the top attacking players in the Premier League in recent times.
The England international has been on fire in front of goal under Emery, scoring nine goals in his last ten games, while he has five goals and one assist in just his last four appearances.
Arsenal could surely do with a signing like Watkins up front, and they’ve been linked with an interest by Football Transfers, though Romano insists there is nothing advanced between the Villa front-man and any other club.
“I’ve had Arsenal fans asking me about the reports on Ollie Watkins – I can say that I’m not aware of anything advanced at this stage with any club,” Romano said.
“He’s doing excellent and he’s only focused on Villa. I’m sure he’s capable of making the step up to one of the so-called ‘big six’, but we also have to respect Villa as the project is ambitious and Unai Emery is there to help them grow.”