Arsenal made £40m offer to sign 29yo striker

Arsenal reportedly made an offer worth £40 million to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins earlier this week.

The Gunners are desperate to bolster their centre-forward department and they have identified Watkins as the priority target.

The club have already received the green light from his entourage, but a deal appears unlikely at the current point of time.

Villa have just parted ways with Jhon Duran. The 21-year-old is set to join Al-Nassr in a deal worth £64m by tomorrow.

With his departure, Villa are reluctant to lose Watkins this winter.

Arsenal are prepared to make a renewed offer after their £40m bid was turned down, but Villa are unlikely to let him go cheaply.

The Midlands outfit are eyeing as much as £80m for the 29-year-old. It is a figure which Arsenal are unlikely to pay for his services.

Arsenal have their sights on landing Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer and are unlikely to overspend on Watkins.