Aston Villa boss Unai Emery may need to raincheck any plans he had to re-introduce one of his star players as a new development has emerged regarding his injury status.
What's the latest news involving Aston Villa?
According to Football Insider, Aston Villa are keen to offer Ollie Watkins a new bumper contract in the West Midlands to secure his long-term future, given that his present deal will expire in the summer of 2025. The outlet claim that Watkins is happy with life at Aston Villa and his status as a first-team starter and there is now a growing belief from both sides that a deal will be concluded to ensure the England international remains at Villa Park.
Nevertheless, FootballTransfers indicate that Arsenal director Edu Gaspar has engaged in direct contact with Watkins' agent over the possibility of trying to lure the Torquay-born striker to north London.
Chelsea are also believed to be keen on Watkins, who is said to want a new five-year contract at Aston Villa worth in excess of £150,000 per week. Despite interest from Mauricio Pochettino's Blues, former Brentford man Watkins would prefer a move to Arsenal and is a boyhood fan of the Gunners.
Cited by 90min, Aston Villa boss Emery has commented on the situation and never gave much away regarding Watkins' future, stating: "We are in touch. His commitment to the club is amazing. Watkins' commitment every day is very high. Every day he wants to improve. He wants to work and to help the team."
Next up for Aston Villa is a home tie against Everton in the third round of the Carabao Cup and the Villans will hope to progress to the next phase of a competition they could stand a real chance of going far in this term.
Who has been dealt an injury blow at Aston Villa?
Cited by The Express & Star, Aston Villa star Alex Moreno could be out for another fortnight after a slight setback to the initial timescale for his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Villans' boss Emery has explained why the Spaniard may be out for slightly longer than expected, stating in a recent interview: "His injury was very hard. He's been better and better, but he is not feeling 100 per cent comfortable to play. We decided to stop some days, maybe one week or two weeks. Hopefully he is being close again to being in the squad."
In his short time at Aston Villa, Moreno has become a popular player among supporters, registering three assists in 19 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
Labelled "outstanding" by former Aston Villa star Alan Hutton, the 30-year-old has excelled in comparison to his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions in the art of progressive carries, having completed an average of 3.80 per 90 minutes in the last 365 days, putting him in the 94th percentile for this metric, as per FBRef.
Lucas Digne has deputised admirably at left-back in Moreno's absence; however, there is no doubt Emery will want as many options as possible and the news that the former Real Betis man may be out for a little longer will come as a blow to everyone concerned at Villa Park.