Aston Villa boss Unai Emery considers shock reunion with £31.8m Chelsea star amid Watkins Arsenal links
Aston Villa are looking to bolster their attacking options in the summer
Aston Villa return to Premier League duties with a must-win home match against relegation-threatened Ipswich Town as they aim to rejuvenate their push for Champions League qualification.
Unai Emery’s side showcased plenty of quality without Ollie Watkins to breeze past an injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur side in the FA Cup last weekend and are now looking to make amends for last weekend’s disappointing defeat to Wolves.
The Villans have a number of injury concerns to contend with ahead of their clash with the Tractor Boys, but one huge boost for Unai Emery’s side is that top scorer Watkins looks set to make a return to the matchday squad alongside experienced defender Tyrone Mings.
Watkins, who hasn’t found the net in the Premier League since a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, competes with Marcus Rashford and Donyell Malen for a starting spot and has hopes of returning to the goals after an unsettling period at the end of January, which was dominated by speculation linking him with a move away from Villa Park.
Villa after losing Duran, declined an offer of £60m for their talismanic forward, but could face further interest from the Gunners in the summer, according to Football London.
Aston Villa consider shock move for Chelsea forward
Aston Villa are understood to be one of the leading contenders to sign Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson if he becomes available in the summer transfer window.
The Villans made £65m from the sale of Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia and still have funds available to strengthen their frontline in the summer. Villa added Malen, Rashford and Marcos Asensio in January to strengthen the attack on a short-term basis, but none of the trio are natural centre forwards and the only out-and-out player in the position remains Ollie Watkins at this stage.
Sun Sport reports that Villa are in the market for another proven finisher to compete with Watkins and claims that Unai Emery is a big fan of 23-year-old Jackson.
Unai Emery’s relationship with Nicolas Jackson
Unai Emery worked with Jackson at Villarreal and was the manager who gave the Senegalese international his first major breakthrough at the Estadio de la Cerámica after signing him from Senegalese side Casa Sports for a nominal fee.
"He was starting the pre-season with the U21s and when he was progressively coming to train with us, he was showing his potential," Said Emery
"We worked during the one year on his skill, he improved his understanding better, how he could exploit his potential. And playing minutes and getting experiences was the next step. But his attitude as well was fantastic. He was always learning. He was always demanding to train more, to be focused. He was also being a professional every day out of training sessions at home because he was focused on football like the first priority in his life.”
Jackson played just nine league matches in Emery’s final full season at Villarreal but became the first choice striker in the months leading up to his departure to Villa in October 2022. The young forward was very close to joining Bournemouth for around £23m that January but after failing a medical instead moved to Chelsea that summer.
The 23-year-old has scored 26 times and assisted 11 in 68 appearances for the Blues across all competitions. He has led the line throughout his time at Stamford Bridge, but according to Sun Sport could depart to raise funds for a big-money centre forward signing in the summer.