Aston Villa ‘open transfer talks’ for £65m Ollie Watkins replacement as Arsenal circle

Aston Villa are dealing with mounting interest in Ollie Watkins as Unai Emery eyes a move for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, whom he managed previously at Villarreal

Aston Villa have opened talks to land Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, with Ollie Watkins attracting plenty of attention as Arsenal and Manchester United circle.

The 25-year-old forward is back in west London following a year away at Bayern Munich, where he spent last season on loan. Unai Emery worked with Jackson previously at Villarreal and would seemingly welcome adding the Senegalese striker.

Jackson spent two years as Chelsea’s first choice striker, scoring 30 times, but then fell down the pecking order. Despite that he’s still valued by the Blues at £65million, reports The Sun, which would surpass the club-record £50m fee Villa spent to land Johan Manzambi earlier this summer.

Chelsea now have Xabi Alonso in charge and he wants to assess Jackson, despite him not being part of the initial squad which set off for Australia this week. Premier League rules do not permit clubs to take two players on loan from another top-flight side and Alejandro Garnacho moved to Villa only days ago, meaning any deal would need to be a permanent one.

Villa have seen a number of leading lights leave this summer and Watkins’ future is now under the spotlight. United and Arsenal are reportedly monitoring developments regarding the England striker after the Europa League winners turned down an approach from Fenerbahce.

The Turkish side had been planning to table a £35m bid for Watkins, only for Villa to make it clear they wouldn’t accept the offer. It’s understood several clubs in England and in Europe are keen on him and £40m could be enough to lure Villa into talks – but it would then force them into the market for a new striker.

Watkins has been the team’s top scorer every year since signing from Brentford in 2020. Last term he managed 21 goals in all competitions.

Watkins, known to be an Arsenal fan, was previously the subject of a rejected bid from the Gunners back in January 2025. They could see Gabriel Jesus depart this summer and would then be in the market for reinforcements to their frontline.

Villa have continued to toe the line financially, which has forced them into sales this summer. United took advantage of a £35m release clause in Youri Tielemans’ deal to sign the Belgian international and PSG are in talks to re-sign Lucas Digne. Their biggest income has come as a result of Morgan Rogers making a British-record move to Chelsea for £117m.

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