Aston Villa 'furious' over Watkins bid for two reasons as striker nears £63m exit

Aston Villa are ‘furious’ with Arsenal after they made a shock bid for Ollie Watkins on the eve of their final Champions League group game.

The Gunners have been on the lookout for attacking reinforcements in January following the injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.

Saka is likely to be out for at least another month with his hamstring problem, while Jesus will miss the rest of the season having undergone surgery on his ACL.

While Arteta refused to talk about individual targets, last week he admitted work was taking place behind the scenes to bring in a forward this month.

Arteta also confirmed that the club had identified specific targets and on Wednesday the Daily Mail claimed they’ve moved for one of them in Watkins.

The Arsenal boss is a long-term admirer of the England international and the report stated that the Gunners have had an initial offer for the 19-year-old rejected by Villa but that ‘an improved attempt is expected’.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano later revealed the rejected Arsenal bid was £60m before revealing that Villa ‘are not happy with timing of the bid, ahead of crucial UCL game for the club’.

Unai Emery’s side face Celtic at Villa Park on Wednesday with a victory likely to see them finish in the automatic qualification spots.

TBR Football confirmed Villa’s anger at the timing of the offer, with a second reason for their fury also revealed.

The report states:

‘TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands Aston Villa are furious with Arsenal after their £60million bid for Ollie Watkins. ‘We are told the offer was rejected straight away and Villa made it clear how unhappy they were with it. ‘Firstly, the Villans are unhappy over the timing of the offer, on the eve of their crucial Champions League game against Celtic. ‘Secondly, Villa firmly believe it has been done to unsettle the player.’

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An already unlikely transfer for Arsenal has been made even more difficult by reports that fellow Villa striker Jhon Duran is nearing an exit from the club this month.

Romano claims an agreement is close to being reached between Al Nassr and Villa for his transfer, though the Saudi Pro League club are also deep into negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface.

Romano wrote on X: ‘EXCL: Al Nassr are on the verge of reaching verbal agreement with Aston Villa for Jhon Durán for €75m fee with add-ons.

‘But formal steps needed as Al Nassr also have advanced negotiations in place for Victor Boniface with Bayer…and only ONE striker will join. ‘

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