Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney? Arsenal holding fire on striker acquisition - for now
Villa hold key to first steps in negotiation
Although they already have Gabriel Jesus in situ at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta and his side could almost certainly benefit from having another goalscorer in the squad, ideally with Premier League experience.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins continues to lead the line well for Unai Emery’s side, and a move back to London in due course may suit the player.
That said, he clearly feels that he owes it to his current employers to hear them out, with our columnist, Fabrizio Romano, noting in his Daily Briefing column today that Watkins will listen to Villa’s contract proposal before entering into negotiations with any other club.
“That's the first step for sure, and then we will see where they will go from there,” the transfer expert said. There’s clearly still a long way to go with “nothing advanced or concrete” yet according to Romano.
Ivan Toney is back in training with Watkins’ old club, Brentford, with a view to a fresh start in football in the new year after his eight-month ban from the game for betting irregularities.
That may be at Brentford or elsewhere, with Arsenal asking about what any deal for the striker would look like.
Both Toney and Watkins play in a similar style, off the shoulder of the last defender. Pace, power and razor-sharp instincts for a chance honed over the past few seasons in the English top-flight make them both coveted acquisitions over the next window or two.
“My information is that Brentford know that the player wants to leave in 2024, we’ll have to see if that will be in January or next summer, but we know that Toney appointed a new agent because he wants to try a new experience at a top club,” Romano stated in an earlier Daily Briefing column.
“As I’ve mentioned before it's only September, and we already have Toney, Osimhen, Watkins, Santiago Gimenez and probably 2/3 more strikers being linked with Arsenal. It's too easy to put 10 names in the mix. Again, nothing is decided and nothing concrete as of now.”
Can you see Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney being a success at Arsenal?