Pep Guardiola has rotated between Gabriel Jesus, Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling up front this season, but Manchester City are expected to bring in a natural centre-forward as a belated replacement for Sergio Aguero who was released over the summer.
With the Sky Blues failing to sign one of Harry Kane, Romelu Lukuku, Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe, Shaun Wright-PHllips has recommended another more attainable target. He cited Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette as a left-field option but also believes Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins should be considered.
The former City winger told SunSport: “I just think with City it doesn’t necessarily have to be a striker worth £150million. It could be a striker that knows where the back of the net is and I think there’s a lot of them in the Premier League and around the world. For me I would sign Ollie Watkins.”
The 25-year-old joined Villa on a five-year deal from Brentford in 2020, setting the club back £28m. Watkins has gone on to make 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring 18 goals with five assists. Watkins hasn’t been too prolific in his second season, scoring just two goals from nine games, but he remains a regular under Dean Smith and wouldn’t be sold without resistance.
The lure of City may be too good to refuse, but there’s little indication that a move is even being formulated for the England international. Watkins may boast more shots on target (1 every 73.1 mins) than Phil Foden (92.5 mins) and Jack Grealish (106.1 mins) this season, but Haaland remains City’s No.1 priority in 2022 so Villa need not worry.
In other news, Man City tipped to sign £19.8m-rated man with 197 goals