In light of Man Utd transfer rumors, Ollie Watkins expresses his thoughts about Aston Villa’s future.

After an outstanding season under Unai Emery, where striker Ollie Watkins led the team in goals and assists, Aston Villa was guaranteed Champions League football for the next season.
Ollie Watkins says he’ll be back next season, but he wants to compete at the European Championship first.

The striker for Aston Villa, who helped lead Unai Emery’s team to Champions League qualification, called his comeback a “breakthrough.” In the Premier League, Watkins scored 19 goals and received the “Playmaker of the Year” award for his 13 assists.

However, he was unable to surpass the 20-goal mark and become Villa’s first striker to do it since Peter Withe in the team’s 1981 First Division title-winning campaign. Watkins hopes to play with the Three Lions for a portion of the summer, but he thinks he can do even better.

“It was disappointing to end such a great season at Crystal Palace on such a low note,” he stated. However, we have been outstanding and incredibly consistent throughout the season, and we finished where we rightfully should—with Villa Park hosting Champions League football.It’s going to be an incredible year. Both individually and collectively, what transpired at Palace was subpar, but this doesn’t sum up our season. We’ve had an excellent year.

“In terms of myself, I’ve been reliable,There’s not much more I can do. It was the aim – to get to 20 goals – but there’s always next season. Has it been a breakthrough? Yes, But I wasn’t surprised by how well I’ve done because of all the hard work I’ve put in. And next season will be better, I’m sure of that.”

Watkins, 28, is one of Harry Kane’s backup players and has spent the last three years in and around Gareth Southgate’s team.

Watkins has the same amount of goals scored as Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth, but his assist total puts him in the lead to travel to Germany the following month.

He stated: “It is difficult to ignore the noise that is created once you score goals and things go your way. To compete in the Euros is my goal. English strikers are few in the Premier League.

I’m optimistic since there are plenty of wingers but not enough center-forwards. That’s what I’ve been putting a lot of effort on.

We will need to wait and observe.

The forward did not give the impression that he had any thoughts other than his future at Villa when he answered queries regarding his chances for the upcoming campaign. There have already been rumors that Manchester United is interested in him.
However, he only signed a new five-year contract this season, and with Champions League play on the horizon, he will be difficult to shake off manager Unai Emery’s grasp. According to Watkins, additional teams should be strong competitors the next season.

“Many teams are in competition,” he continued. “Some believe Chelsea has had a difficult year, but in my opinion, they haven’t. They’ll have increased power. Crystal Palace’s new boss has them on the firing line. Up there is Tottenham. Next season will undoubtedly be challenging and we must be ready.”