Manchester United contacts Villa to sign Watkins, the opponent has a price of 60 million! Only by selling Hoylund can you buy it

"Athletics Network" reported that Manchester United has contacted Aston Villa about Oli Watkins' potential transfer. The England international is on the club's shortlist for new centers, but the deal is only possible if it is sold instead of renting out Hoylund.

As we all know, Ruben Amorin wants a new No. 9 center, Manchester United is weighing several candidates, and the transfer department and Villa senior executives have already contacted through the middleman to explore the prospects of the Watkins deal. The discussion between the two sides actually began long ago. At the end of last season, Manchester United and Villa had negotiated on Rashford's permanent transfer, which mentioned that Watkins might transfer in the summer.

However, although Rashford has a buyout clause of £40 million, the 27-year-old player is determined to join Barcelona. With the high price and high salary, Villa eventually gave up the activation option. Similarly, discussions about Watkins were paused.

Manchester United's current full attention is on signing Mbemo from Brentford, and will strive to sell the team's players to raise more transfer funds. Therefore, the transfer department is currently only evaluating forward candidates, including Watkins. If the final seller is not ideal, there is no guarantee that there will be an excellent center team. At this stage, discussions on Watkins are limited to dialogue, without further action, and any substantial progress will have to wait for the later transfer period.

Watkins scored 75 goals in 184 Premier League games with Villa, and has scored double digits in the past five seasons, including 21 goals last season, second only to Isaac (29 goals) and Haaland (25 goals) in centers, so he is regarded by some in Manchester United's transfer department as the center goal that is most likely to secure goals in the league.

Watkins, who is already 29 years old, does not match the standards for signing young players after Jim Ratcliff acquired Manchester United. However, Manchester United signed 26-year-old Cunha in the summer window and is introducing Mbemo at the end of 25, indicating that head coach Amorin hopes to get a "mature player" who is at his peak. He has pressure on his performance and needs to get the team out of the trough as soon as possible.

Villa was worried that the club would violate the Premier League PSR profit and sustainability rules, so he even agreed to sell the women's football team and has been seeking to sell the first team of men's football team to cash out. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is also a seller, with a price of 40 million pounds, and Manchester United also has many rumors about it.

In the January winter transfer window, Arsenal had negotiated with Villa for Watkins, and Villa asked for a price of £60 million. However, Arsenal's valuation of Watkins is £40 million. There is a huge gap between the two sides and the transaction is never close to completion.

Villa believes Watkins can still sell at a high price because his contract is still three years away. But considering Watkins' age, it's unlikely that he has a high second transfer value, and Manchester United needs to be cautious about his transfer fees. As early as the summer of 2023, the club considered introducing Watkins, and head coach Ten Hager and the transfer staff finally chose to sign Hoylund from Atlanta. In October of that year, Watkins and Villa renewed their contract until 2028.

Two years have passed, and Hoylund performed poorly, especially last season, with only 4 goals in the Premier League. The 22-year-old Danish striker said he wanted to stay at Old Trafford, but the club did want to sell him. Inter Milan still has a strong interest in "cargo ships", and the difference is that Manchester United hopes to transfer permanently and asks for £38 million.

Currently, Hoylund's book value (the unpaid installment transfer fee) is about £45 million, meaning that Manchester United's sale is a loss. But at least I have money to earn, rather than renting out without transfer fees, that is the transfer method Inter Milan wants.

Amorin hopes to get the center is Dzekelish, however, the first choice for Portugal sports' top scorer is Arsenal, and Manchester United is just a spare tire. Osmaine demanded a weekly after-tax salary of £200,000, which is equivalent to a weekly salary of nearly £400,000 in the Premier League, and the income is too high. Frankfurt, on the other hand, priced at 23-year-old Ekitic for 100 million euros, which was too high, exceeding La Jue's tolerance. Manchester United and Chelsea are also discussing potential deals between Garnacho and Nkunku, but the striker with many injuries is not an authentic center or someone Amorin particularly wants.

Putting aside Watkins' age issue, his transfer can continue Manchester United's transfer strategy this summer, that is, prioritize the introduction of offensive players who have been tested and proven themselves. They may only need a shorter time to adapt to the Red Devils, as Amorin needs to improve the team's record as soon as possible.

If Watkins is signed, it may not be a sensational effect, but it will be a wise deal that will help solve the club's goal problem. He started 31 times in 38 Premier League games last season, scoring 16 goals and providing eight assists.

The center is originally good at running in an open position and can cooperate with Bruno Fernandez, Cunia and Mbemo. Moreover, in the past two years, Watkins has made more progress, becoming a fulcrum and shooter, which can bring air threats to the team and a point-grabber in the penalty area.

But not everyone is optimistic about Watkins. Celebrity Gary Neville believes: "Watkins is very capable, but he can get such data in Villa's stable system. If he is placed in a messy Manchester United? He may only have nine goals. Manchester United either sign Osmayen or Dzekelash, they can immediately improve the team's strength, or continue to stay Hoylund."