‘This week’: Journalist says he’s just been tipped off that Chelsea want to sign 27-year-old Aston Villa player

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Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is a player that Chelsea may be interested in signing ahead of the January transfer window.

That is according to well-respected journalist Simon Phillips.

Speaking on his podcast via his Substack, Phillips reported that Chelsea are already considering a string of centre-forwards that they could target in the next window.

This includes Ollie Watkins from Premier League rivals Villa.

Simon Phillips has named Villa’s frontman as someone in Chelsea’s sights for the New Year.

He’s been tipped off this week that the 27-year-old Englishman is considered a target for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

He said: “Dusan Vlahovic was obviously looked at in the summer. He’s still there. Jonathan David from Lille. And the last one is Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa.

“Those are the names that I’ve been given this week that Chelsea are considering for the January window.”

Watkins has started the new season with three goals and two assists in his opening six games across all competitions, proving he’s a key part of what Unai Emery is trying to achieve at Villa Park.

He finished last season with 16 goals across all competitions last season for Villa, including 15 in the Premier League. We’re now expecting even more from him this campaign, too!

The striker position at Chelsea continues to be such a topical debate every week, but we do think Nicolas Jackson has earned himself a bit of time to make the starting forward position his own.

We rate Watkins as quite a complete forward with pace, strength, work rate and clever moment. However, it may be a stretch too far to suggest he can be the world-class frontman Chelsea desperately craves.