Ollie Watkins

[ChicagoLion]

He also did an interview post Newcastle where he admitted he was fuming with not starting vs PSG having been one of the players to get us into the champions league in the first place. It is clear he isn't a happy bunny.

Yeh, that what I meant about him not being happy, ( being dropped) and I have some sympathy as I think Emery got the selection and subs wrong.
I have allways appreciated what he has done for the club, he has been a major part of our revival.
He has scored some incredibly important goals for us.He has an unerring ability to pick out goalkeepers shin pads though.
I don’t think he is going to get any better so with the right offer we take the PSR gain and hopefully find a suitable younger replacement.
That will not be easy.

[brontebilly]

He also did an interview post Newcastle where he admitted he was fuming with not starting vs PSG having been one of the players to get us into the champions league in the first place. It is clear he isn't a happy bunny.

Fuming v PSG or not that wasn't far off his best display in a Villa shirt v Newcastle. He must have been fit to be tied on the bench v Man City after it!

But that's the life of a forward at a big club that isn't truly elite. He could ask the likes of Jota at Liverpool or Jesus at Arsenal what it's like. Or even ask McGinn who keeps getting taken off early in games despite performing at a really high level. Ollie has never been gifted with the best technical skills, his first touch, passing and ball striking all fairly average compared to Kane for example. So I get that he feels he needs regular 90min games to be at his best. Not sure where he gets that, mind.

Id back Watkins to deliver at Bournemouth all day though. He's a warrior, like McGinn, and we need them both at their best the next day.

[Bosco81]

Based on Arsenal making a bid which he knew and probably gave the green light to, his age ,his affinity with them, PSR, his obvious annoyance at missing out on PSG and the fact that Emery left him out of the starting X1.
It’s not the most fanciful prediction.

Not having a go CL but what you’ve stated is the very definition of a fanciful prediction. You couldn’t back any of it up with hard facts and it would appear to me to be based on people adding 2 and 2 together and coming up with 5.

Will he go, possibly, but that won’t be because of any of the factors you’ve listed above, none of which anyone on here can prove one way or another. The only person who gets to make the decision is Emery himself unless Watkins asks for the move.

I of course speak from a pro-Ollie perspective as I think he’s a key cog in how we currently play. That doesn’t mean however that if Emery feels he can get better results with a different player we shouldn’t sell him and I’d back the Manager if he decides thats the way we go.

Well there was a bid ( Emery confirmed it) he did get dropped, he was quoted as not being happy and he was/ is an Arsenal fan.
Are you claiming these are not hard facts. Also I have not predicted anything I just stated that” it's not a fanciful prediction “ ie it is not without some merit.

I think it’s the “probably gave the green light to “ which is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

The fact Watkins liked Arsenal when he was a kid doesn’t have much relevance, I doubt whether he was a home and away ultra.

I do find the lack of appreciation and respect for Ollie really strange, this season hasn’t been his best, but then he’s still scored and assisted plenty and it’s not like this is the first season fans were wading in saying how much better we can do than him.

He works his nuts off every game, and it’s a big gamble to think we are going to be better off without him.

After 5 seasons now if you don’t rate him you’re never going to rate him, so it always pains me to read this thread to see what shade is being thrown at our record PL goal scorer.

[Dave]

The fact Watkins liked Arsenal when he was a kid doesn’t have much relevance, I doubt whether he was a home and away ultra.

In terms of a prospective move to Arsenal I imagine a much bigger factor than having a poster of Thierry Henry when he was ten years old would be the new, bigger contract and a couple of years more reliably playing in the Champions League and competing to win trophies than if he stayed with us.

[VillaTim]

If we can get £50-60M for him its good business . I'd trust Monchi/Emery to find a suitable replacement or unearth another gem like Rogers who will improve under a top coach.

[edgysatsuma89]

He looks distinctly unenthused by everything most of the time though, so it's hard to tell.

Yeah, it has made me laugh when people have commented on this in the past. Have you not seen his resting pissed off face? It's just how looks.

I suspect he'll be off and for not as much as we think.

[Randy Gurner]

Ollie's been a great servant to the club. If he does leave this summer then I'd be happy to see him do well at another club, but think a Douglas'esque drop off in form is more likely and appears to have already started.

[Brend'Watkins]

And, should he go to a bigger or perceived bigger club you can bet your bottom dollar that he’d find himself on the bench more often than not with the amount of missed easyish chances he’s prone to. What we tolerate because of his overall contribution may not receive the same understanding elsewhere.

[Dave]

And, should he go to a bigger or perceived bigger club you can bet your bottom dollar that he’d find himself on the bench more often than not with the amount of missed easyish chances he’s prone to. What we tolerate because of his overall contribution may not receive the same understanding elsewhere.

The three places he's been linked to (however spuriously) are Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd.

With their experiences of Jesus, Havertz, Nunez, Hoilund and Zirkzee I reckon they'll be thrilled with Watkins' clinical accuracy.

[adrenachrome]

And, should he go to a bigger or perceived bigger club you can bet your bottom dollar that he’d find himself on the bench more often than not with the amount of missed easyish chances he’s prone to. What we tolerate because of his overall contribution may not receive the same understanding elsewhere.

That is true, but any top team which might buy him will be well aware of that. In particular, those who are not committed to a lone striker.

[Dave]

A quirk of Watkins’ career record is that while he has only one Premier League goal in five games against Bournemouth, he has four assists. That’s one in nine of all his Premier League assists ever and is unsurprisingly his best record against anyone. He also has four assists against Palace, but from twice as many games.

[brontebilly]

Ollie's been a great servant to the club. If he does leave this summer then I'd be happy to see him do well at another club, but think a Douglas'esque drop off in form is more likely and appears to have already started.

His performance v Newcastle was one of his best at the club! Don't write him off. Scored a brilliant goal v Bournemouth last year, reckon he will do it again on Saturday.

[tomd2103]

Ollie's been a great servant to the club. If he does leave this summer then I'd be happy to see him do well at another club, but think a Douglas'esque drop off in form is more likely and appears to have already started.

I also think that he has been great for us, but just get the feeling that this could be the 'right' time for a move and he might see it that way as well.

If the links to the like of Arsenal are true, he might see it as his last chance to get that kind of move given his age.  If the offer was anywhere near £60m -70m, I think it would be hard for us to turn that down as well. 

[ROBBO]

We better have a replacement signed before we consider selling him. With all his lack of accuracy he will still be hard to replace.

[PaulWinch again]

Unbelievably hard to replace.