Ferdinand fears £55m Man Utd transfer blunder as INEOS slammed over missed opportunity | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand fears Manchester United will miss out on the opportunity to snap up Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins before he heads to the Saudi Pro League, while also ruing the club’s decision not to rival Chelsea for former frontman Danny Welbeck.

England attacker Watkins is poised to leave Villa Park before the summer transfer window shuts on September 1, having missed his side’s 4-0 thumping at Brighton in their Premier League opener.

Watkins was not considered for the matchday squad on the south coast after Unai Emery confirmed interest from multiple clubs in the player, including Saudi outfit side Al Hilal.

Speaking before his side’s heavy loss at The Amex, Emery refused to guarantee that the 30-year-old would still be a Villa player by the time the window shuts.

“We have an issue with him, it’s clear,” Emery said. “He is our player, we have had offers for him.

“I don’t want to sell him but it can change because if it’s a good option for him and the club and I can replace him in the squad, this is the routine we have and we did before with the players who are leaving.

“With Ollie, he is here, for me he is a fantastic striker, we have always believed in him. Now he is our player, there are 10 days more or less to finish the transfer window, we will see what happens, I’m happy with him, if he is staying with us he will continue playing his level.

“If he is leaving it’s because it is good for three ways, one is him, another is the club and another is the team.”

Watkins has scored 108 goals in 278 games for Villa since his arrival from Brentford in 2020 and was part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad that sealed a third-placed finish at the World Cup this summer, although he barely featured.

While Arsenal made a play to sign Watkins back in January, Ferdinand believes Man Utd transfer chiefs will be making a mistake if they let the Villa man slip through their fingers.

Our friends over at TEAMtalk have previously revealed that Villa are willing to do business with Al Hilal, but only if their £55million (€65m) is met for a player who has two years left on his contract.

Ferdinand wants Watkins at Man Utd after Welbeck mistake

United started the season by leaving their frontline No.9 Benjamin Sesko on the bench for the shock Premier League loss at newly-promoted Hull City, with Mateus Cunha leading the line, after the Red Devils have focused purely on revamping their midfield this summer.

But Ferdinand believes his old club need another striker to compete with Sesko, and that Watkins should be pursued after United decided against bringing Welbeck back to Old Trafford.

“The importance of Benjamin Sesko is huge, especially going to a place like that,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel when analysing United’s woeful showing at Hull.

“You need him in the team and I’m interested to see how he does this season in that sense.

“The big question is, does United’s budget stretch to go and get an Ollie Watkins or someone like that now?

“If Danny Welbeck was on the market, and he clearly was, that’s one who Man United should have gone for because he could still have had an important role to play despite being happy to be on the bench at this stage of his career.

“But let’s not get too carried away, it’s the first game of the season and we know it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

“Manchester United need to set their stall out in a realistic manner. We can’t pretend that Man United should be going for the Premier League title this season.

“We all want that but you need to be realistic and realise where you are. I think they will finish in the top-four and I would be happy with top-four.

“We need to consolidate the success we had last season and if we can get a trophy on top of that then great.”