Ollie Watkins' telling exit comment as Man Utd add Villa star to 3-man wishlist

Manchester United have expressed an interest in Ollie Watkins but Aston Villa insist their player isn't for sale, even though the Englishman has made it clear he will not accept a squad role

Ollie Watkins has made it clear he will never be one of those players who his "happy to sit on the bench" after Aston Villa rejected an advance from Manchester United to land the striker.

The Red Devils are on the lookout for a No 9 and have shortlisted three players with the England international among them. Villa signed Watkins several years ago after he impressed in the Championship and he's since proven himself in the Premier League.

Villa, who lost Jhon Duran back in January, have made it known that they have no interest in selling their forward despite interest from those on the red half of Manchester. Watkins will hope to return to the club's first choice striker after a difficult few months to end the season.

Ironically it was the loan arrival of Marcus Rashford from United that saw Watkins' playing time suffer as a result. Rashford has since left and joined Barcelona on loan, but it means Watkins will face less competition as things stand.

Last term Villa enjoyed a run to the last eight of the Champions League, beating Club Brugge, before running PSG close in the quarter-finals. For that tie Unai Emery opted for Rashford over Watkins - which was not well received.

The ex-Brentford striker made it clear that was not a role he wanted. Watkins said last season: "He's the manager at the end of the day and you've got to respect his decision, but I'm not one of those players that's happy to sit on the bench. I was fuming I wasn't playing and I let him know that."

Emery also had Marco Asensio as a loanee for the second part of the season, but he and Rashford have since left. Villa are yet to make any major attacking additions this summer and the Spanish manager has rejected the prospect of Watkins leaving with Arsenal keen on him back in January.

Emery said: "I don't want (to sell Watkins). It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad." He also maintained: "Watkins is our striker."

United are also thought to have considered moves for PSG's Randal Kolo Muani and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. Ruben Amorim though has claimed that he would be happy to go on with his squad as it stands, claiming: "If I start the season with this squad I will be happy."