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Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has urged the club to tie Ollie Watkins down for longer amid reports of the forward attracting interest from Arsenal.
According to Football Transfers, Gunners sporting director Edu has held conversations with Watkins' agent Paulo Vernazza. Sources reportedly suggested that a January move could be on the cards, with Chelsea also interested in the Englishman, whose current deal expires in the summer of 2025.
Konsa, while speaking to the Daily Mail, believes Villa need to extend their star striker's contract. He said (as quoted by HITC):
“For the club, it’s really important (to keep Watkins). He scores us goals and wins us games. To have him extend his contract would be really important for us.
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“I’ve known him for quite some time. We played together at Brentford, so I knew how good he was. And, when we signed him three years ago, I was delighted. Hopefully he can continue this form.”
Villa manager Unai Emery said after his team's 6-1 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend that the club were in talks with Watkins over a new contract. Emery said (as quoted by FourFourTwo):
“We are in talks. Really, hopefully he is going to sign for a long time with us. I am very happy and I think his commitment with us is really high every day, his behaviour.”
Watkins has started the ongoing season in superb form, scoring seven times and assisting thrice in 11 matches across competitions. He is also the first Aston Villa player since Andy Gray in 1977 to score two hat-tricks in the same season.
Meanwhile, Konsa has also enjoyed a good start to the current season. The centre-back has averaged 4.6 duels won, 3.3 balls recovered, 3.3 clearances and 2.0 tackles per game in seven league starts.
Ollie Watkins has admitted that he was an Arsenal fan growing up
In an interview back in 2020, Ollie Watkins revealed that playing for the Gunners was one of his dreams. The forward, who was then at Brentford, said (as quoted by FourFourTwo):
"That's the dream, to play for Arsenal one day. But, you know, it’s a long shot. I'm an Arsenal fan so Thierry Henry was my idol. He's unbelievable to watch. He was the idol growing up really."
Many fans and pundits have questioned if Arsenal need to sign a goalscorer as Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are not out-and-out strikers. However, manager Mikel Arteta indicated last month that the club aren't planning to sign a striker in January (via Sky Sports).
