Arsenal and Man Utd shortlist £40m Aston Villa star after Chelsea talks begin

Arsenal and Manchester United are keeping tabs on Ollie Watkins (Getty)

Arsenal and Manchester United are considering a move for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins , according to reports.

Watkins scored 21 goals for Villa last season as Unai Emery ’s side finished fourth in the Premier League and beat Freiburg in the Europa League final.

United, meanwhile, have started pre-season without Benjamin Sesko due to a calf injury, while Juventus have made an approach to sign Joshua Zirkzee.

Arsenal could also be in the market to sign a new striker as they are open to offers for Gabriel Jesus.

According to The Sun , both Arsenal and United are ‘monitoring’ Watkins’ situation as they prepare to enter the final month of the summer transfer window.

The report adds that Villa have already rejected a £30 million proposal from Turkish side Fenerbahce and would only consider offers in excess of £40m for Watkins.

Aston Villa are in talks with Chelsea to sign Nicolas Jackson (Getty)

The 30-year-old is currently on holiday as he was part of England’s squad for their World Cup campaign and made two appearances as a substitute during the tournament.

In a separate report, The Sun also claim that Villa have opened talks with Chelsea over a potential deal for Nicolas Jackson.

Emery already has experience of working with Jackson during their time together at Villarreal.

Chelsea are understood to be demanding a £65m fee for Jackson, who scored 11 goals during his spell on loan with Bayern Munich last season.

Jackson is also on holiday after featuring for Senegal at the World Cup and Chelsea are allowing Xabi Alonso to make the final decision over the striker’s future at Stamford Bridge.