Villa have already raked in a hefty £64 million transfer fee when they sanctioned Jhon Duran's sale to Al Nassr, so a cash influx at this stage is insufficient to justify a sale for Watkins. Romano also noted exclusively to GIVEMESPORT that Unai Emery was "pushing internally" to avoid parting ways with his man this window.

Arsenal's late interest in signing Ollie Watkins looks likely to be one of the main stories on transfer deadline day. The Gunners reportedly launched a bid in the final days of January, which was promptly rejected by Aston Villa,

Arsenal will decide whether to sign a top Serie A striker - or wait for the summer to try again for Ollie Watkins after his true thoughts were revealed.