Big twist: Journalist now claims Gerrard wants 26 y/o to 'stay' at Aston Villa

Journalist Paul Brown has highlighted that if Ollie Watkins was to depart in the summer then it would cause uproar for the Aston Villa fans.

West Ham United are reportedly keeping tabs on Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins over a potential move in the summer to the Olympic Stadium. There have been no reports on Steven Gerrard commenting on the English forward’s departure, but he is top of the list for the Hammers.

Ollie Watkins has been a mainstay in the Aston Villa side this season, in the Premier League he has featured 30 times whilst chipping in with nine goals, which makes him Villa’s top scorer.

After there have been reports of other clubs being interested in Watkins, Paul Brown highlighted to GiveMeSport how the Villa faithful may react if they lose their star striker.

“If they were to let him go, it would need to be for a fee where they could sign probably two players to replace him, I think, otherwise the fans would not stand for it.

“And I’m sure the manager does not want Ollie Watkins going anywhere, especially to a team that you would probably think are on a similar level to Villa.

“If it was a City or Liverpool coming in for him, it would be harder to say no, but I’m sure Villa would try and say no to West Ham.”

TIF Thoughts on Paul Brown’s comments…

A big twist if what Paul Brown is saying is true as it was reported that Gerrard was willing to sanction the exit of the striker.

Ollie Watkins made the jump to the Premier League in 2020 when he signed for Aston Villa from Brentford for £30 million. In the Premier League this season for Villa he has been impressive in terms of stats, he is the club’s tops scorer with nine goals, he has created the joint fourth amount of big chances (3), and has the second-highest