Manchester United is pursuing their pursuit of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who was teammates with the old Trafford star Marcus Rashford for the second half of last season
Transfer target of Manchester United Ollie Watkins admitted that he was 'smoking' after he was omitted from the startline-up of Aston Villa instead of Marcus Rashford. Watkins, 29, was only a replacement for both of the quarterfinals of Villa in the quarterfinals with Paris Saint-Germain last season.
Now the English international can be teammates with Rashford again. United makes a joint attempt to sign Watkins from Villa, who wants around £ 60 million.
Unai Emery would have liked Rashford after he had signed it on loan from United during the transfer window of January and the Villa manager thought he was better suited to start against PSG. Villa finally went out and lost 5-4 on aggregated and Rashford could not score in any of the two games.
In the meantime, Watkins only got 25 minutes over the two legs, because he spent a large part of the game on the couch. The striker could not hide his frustration in the days after Emery's decision and responded in the best possible way.
Four days after the second stage, Watkins took a hat trick in a 4-1 that struck at home in Newcastle and made his claim. After the match, the 29-year-old spoke with Sky Sports and revealed that he announced that Emery knows his feelings.
“I played for 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I'm not going to lie – I was smoking that I didn't play,” Watkins admitted. “I told him that. He is the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I am not one of the players who like to sit on the couch.
“It is something that I have never experienced before, miss the biggest stage. You always want to play, especially in the Champions League. I and a few others are disappointed that we did not start the game, but as I said, it is the decision of the manager … instead of having it hindered, you have to use that anger as a motivation.”
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Emery became the owner of his decision and explained: “It was my selection, tactical. We add more competition, more competitions and we hit a different level. Of course Watkins is very, very important to us. He scores goals for us, and last Saturday his impact was fantastic.
“On Tuesday [against PSG]It was difficult for him to read the game and show his strength. But he worked, he is ready. I'm so happy with him, and I want to win tomorrow [away to Manchester City]. As players they can be sad that they don't play or be angry with not playing – I prefer angry. “