Arsenal and Chelsea transfer pitches made to Aston Villa star by Liverpool and Spurs men

Two Premier League stalwarts have told Ollie Watkins where he should go next should he decide to leave Aston Villa.

Watkins is on a well deserved break and has recently celebrated getting engaged after proposing to his girlfriend Ellie Alderson on holiday. The 28-year-old for his involvement with England at EURO 2024 has the next few weeks off, but will return to Bodymoor Heath soon to prepare for the 2024/25 season.

He was the focal point of Villa's team last season and was the driving force in them qualifying for the Champions League. His 19 goals and 13 assists in 37 league games made him one of the most creative players in the division, and that has put him on notice with some of Villa's league rivals.

William Gallas, who played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs in the Premier League, believes that Watkins should move to Arsenal if he would entertain the idea of leaving Villa Park. Watkins in an interview from years ago said 'the dream' would be to play for the Gunners in the Premier League one day, but that was before he became a star at Villa.

Speaking to Genting Casino, Gallas said: "For Arsenal, I like Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

"He has the pace you need to have as a striker and with a player like Martin Odegaard in behind him it would just be magnificent, think of all the assists.

"It’s so difficult to defend against players like Ollie Watkins because he’s so clever with his runs, with Odegaard they would do so much damage. If I was at Arsenal I’d choose him."

Glen Johnson, who played in the top-flight of English football for his whole career knows all to well about making a move to English football's biggest clubs. He transferred to Chelsea from West Ham, and then from Portsmouth to Liverpool, and won silverware with the Reds, and the two Blues.

Johnson, who boasts more than 500 appearances for club and country, believes that Watkins would be a good fit for his former club Chelsea. The West London club may not be in the Champions League, but the former right-back believes they are still capable of attracting big name players.

“I can see reasons for why he’d stay at Villa and for why he’d move to Chelsea," said Johnson to Betfred.

"He didn’t get a lot of game time at the Euros but when he got onto the pitch, England looked like a better team. I think if he got the opportunity to sign for Chelsea, then I believe he’d bite their arm off.

"Aston Villa had a great season and qualified for the Champions League, but Chelsea’s still Chelsea and I’m sure they’ll bounce back. Ollie would definitely improve them and I can definitely see that deal happening.”