Hands off Ollie, says Stevie G
STEVEN GERRARD has warned rival clubs that his star striker Ollie Watkins is not for sale.
Aston Villa’s boss has quashed chat that leading goalscorer Watkins will be allowed to quit this summer.
The England attacker has found the net 10 times for Villa this season – six fewer than his first campaign following a £33million move from Brentford – and West Ham are rumoured to be mounting a bid.
But Gerrard refuses to even consider losing the 26-year-old forward. He said: “Ollie’s going nowhere. We love him.
“We really enjoy working with him. To take this challenge at Villa where we want to take it, we need goalscorers and we need top players – and Ollie Watkins is a top player.
“I will fight as hard as I need to fight if something ever happened but I know the owner, the chief executive Christian Purslow and sporting director Johan Lange are all on the same page.
Versatility
“We’re delighted with him.
So, it’s a straight ‘No’ from us.”
Watkins has broken into the England set-up during his time at Villa Park but he was given a jolt after Danny Ings arrived.
However, Gerrard sees his versatility as a key reason why the former Exeter City forward is going nowhere – and thinks Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate can take advantage of that, too.
He added: “Ollie’s capable of playing as a left forward, a nine and he’s naturally right-footed, so he can do it from there.
“He’s very selfless and his numbers have been affected this season because he’s been all about the team.
“He’s been more consistent of late because he may have been more selfish in front of goal.
“He’s been rewarding himself for all his good work.
“I judge forwards by what they give you out of possession and in possession. For me, he ticks both boxes. I know he’s capable of getting the numbers, he proved that last year.
“And I think it’s going to be a big draw for Gareth Southgate going into tournaments, because he’s very robust and makes a lot of defenders think about him.”