Approach made: Chelsea ready to pay club’s £60m asking price to sign 30 G/A star | OneFootball

Chelsea have reportedly made an approach over the potential transfer of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who is available for £60m.

The England international has been a star performer for Villa, contributing a total of 18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions for club and country this season.

Still, it seems Villa would be willing to listen to offers for Watkins, with Chelsea also ready to pay his £60m asking price, according to Football Transfers.

Watkins is not getting any younger, but he’s still showing his quality at the highest level, so this could end up being a smart investment by Chelsea, even if not a particularly long-term one.

The Blues have issues up front and Watkins could be ideal to help take the pressure off Nicolas Jackson for a while.

Chelsea need to be flexible with transfer approach – a move for Ollie Watkins could be just what they need

Ollie Watkins applauds the Aston Villa fans (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Chelsea have invested a lot in young players under their current ownership, and this would clearly represent a move away from that.

Can fans and pundits realistically see this piece of Chelsea news happening? Journalist Charlie Patrick can see the logic behind it, but isn’t convinced the owners will change their approach.

Speaking to CaughtOffside, he said:

Ollie Watkins missed out on Arsenal transfer in January

Watkins is surely good enough to play for an even bigger club than Villa, and we know that Arsenal were keen on him in January.

It seems the Gunners just wouldn’t offer enough for the 29-year-old at the time, according to the Athletic, so perhaps his big opportunity has gone.

These Chelsea links seem slightly hard to believe, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on both Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as other top clubs, when it comes to Watkins this summer.