Ollie Watkins

[ChicagoLion]

In the summer, if he Duran cements the no.1 spot, then yeah, I can see it happening.

The realisation that he is no longer 1st choice might make a Jan deal more appealing.

[ozzjim]

He's an arsenal fan so it's the one move I could actually see Ollie pushing for. Very unlikely in Jan though. Would leave us in a terrible position too.

[PaulWinch again]

I do find crazy that after 6 months where he’s performed pretty solidly there are questions on his future. He was incredible last year - I understand the PSR concerns, but we have two very good strikers. We need to do everything to keep them both for as long we can.

[cdbearsfan]

He's still averaging more than a goal every two games in terms of minutes played. We've wanted two top strikers for decades, now we have them. Let's not sell, thanks.

[edgysatsuma89]

In the summer, if he Duran cements the no.1 spot, then yeah, I can see it happening.

The realisation that he is no longer 1st choice might make a Jan deal more appealing.

Nah, no chance we would sell in January. Ollie will have to reassess his career and what he wants in the summer if he is firmly number 2.

[pauliewalnuts]

Fuck selling him.

Why on earth would we do that?

[Rory]

Fuck selling him.

Why on earth would we do that?

There does appear to be some sort of reaction to him, from some. Not quite sure why.

He's not perfect, but he's the most consistent striker we've had for about 25 years.

[Brazilian Villain]

There does appear to be some sort of reaction to him, from some. Not quite sure why.

He's not perfect, but he's the most consistent striker we've had for about 25 years.

There's quite a few Fairground Attraction fans on here.

[Toronto Villa]

Why are some so scared of us having two top quality forwards? Are we not allowed to have a deep squad of excellent players? Why is that only allowed for Chelsea or Man City etc? Ollie’s job is win back his spot. We need that level of competition to always be at or near the top. We can’t just rely on a handful of top players. We need a squad full of them.

[LukeJames]

I do find crazy that after 6 months where he’s performed pretty solidly there are questions on his future.

If Duran goes 5 games without scoring there'll be talk of why we didn't sell him to Westham in the summer.

[ChicagoLion]

Of course there is going to be speculation over an England centre forward who looks like he may have lost his place in the team as we enter the January transfer window. Of course I hope we are able to have 2 strikers available but I am not sure how he will react to being second fiddle.

[Dante Lavelli]

Fuck selling him.

Why on earth would we do that?

I wouldn’t sell as I think the competition/rotation will pay dividends in the long run.

However from a commercial perspective we’d be selling at close to his ceiling price and PSR means we probably need to anccept any opportunistic offers when they’re tabled (see Diaby).  His value will start dropping once he hits 30yo, so it could be now or never if we need the cash.

[dcdavecollett]

The thought occurred to me that if nothing happens until the summer, that a swap between us and Brentford for Ollie and Bryan could be a possibility - until you consider the huge disparity in wages and it then becomes a non-runner.

[AV84]

Of course there is going to be speculation over an England centre forward who looks like he may have lost his place in the team as we enter the January transfer window. Of course I hope we are able to have 2 strikers available but I am not sure how he will react to being second fiddle.

Exactly. It's a bit like goalkeepers. Unless we can figure out a way to play with both of them on the pitch all the time, it's perfectly reasonable to assume one of them is going to want to go somewhere else, eventually. I thought Duran was the succession plan, and we'd be looking at another season or 2 of Ollie as #1, but the first half of the season hasn't played out like that. Apart from a few weirdos who seem to actively want rid of Ollie, I think most people are just speculating a bit. No harm in that.

[LeeB]

Also, we're kind of forced to think like this thanks to FFP.