Villa receiving encouragement in their pursuit of Emile Smith Rowe

Aston Villa are claimed to be receiving couragement in their pursuit to land Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal this summer.

The midfielder enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign this term, breaking into the first-team on Boxing Day when starring against Chelsea, and quickly earning a regular starting role in the team.

The young English midfielder is expected to enter into contract talks with Arsenal when he returns from holiday, but Aston Villa appear to have other ideas having already tabled two offers to land his signature.

The Mirror(via Birmingham Mail) claim that the Villains are receiving encouragement in their pursuit of the 20 year-old, and are set to launch a third bid for his signature.

I seriously can’t get my head around why Villa would feel encouragement, as Arsenal must surely rank ESR amongst their core of players to be building the team around, although every player ultimately has to have a price.

I personally don’t understand why the Midlands club would believe they could convince us to sell for around £30 Million, as I personally wouldn’t want to accept £60 Million, as I believe he has that quality, and the potential to be England and Arsenal’s best player in the coming years.

Smith Rowe only has six months of first-team experience at the top level, and has already come on so much, and I will be livid if he ended up leaving.

Patrick

Tags Emile Smith Rowe

50 Comments

  1. This is a non- story .
    Reasons it keeps appearing ?
    – to deflect attention from Grealish leaving
    – agent thinks it will help negotiations with Arsenal
    – because the Birmingham Mail likes click bait headlines on its website

    1. You’re not wrong about the Birmingham Mail. Pants a lot of the time, but hey, most media is.

      It’s a strange one, can’t see why Arsenal are even entertaining offers, or has there even truly been an offer. All the Grealish talk in the press about agreed fees and all that bollox – apparently, there’s been no fee agreed, no talks or even an approach. But PR people at these clubs are savvy buggers who get the media to start a shitstorm.

      But, if there have been offers, why haven’t Arsenal just said “not for sale, end of, now do one”?

      There is of course a theory posted on one of the Arsenal forums I read that Arteta has his own preferences but there’s no money to fulfil his hopes and that they’re pushing the figure up for money to spend on a proven target. Probably all bullshit though.

      Any way, I think Villa are heading in the right direction, and with the backing and progress, you’d be daft to write them off for challenging top 4 – probably not next season, but if they continue to improve, then maybe 22/23.

      UTV

  2. There is no way on earth Arsenal will let ESR go to villa but something is going on under the surface. It would be a huge mistake to let ESR go to a rival, especially after the Martinez debacle and Buendia. It wont happen because it would upset too many people, even for 60 mil.

    1. But, all our players have a price, especially the younger ones Arteta didn’t bring in.

    2. Best comment so far… VILLA is our rivals. It’s important we establish that

      Not Chelsea, or Man Utd, or Spurs, or City, or Liverpool

      1. Ayo, the teams you mentioned were our rivals, we have fallen and Villa are most definitely more of a threat to us at the moment than the top 6.

    3. I like the way you think Reggie. Villa and the likes of Wolves and Everton are our rivals and selling one of our brightest talents to one would be bad business and illogical.
      Just look at the Martinez situation (granted he wanted first team football, either at AFC or away from us), but some of his displays earned Villa extra point last season.
      We would have been better off selling him to a foreign club, not strengthening a rival.
      ESR would do exactly the same, should we allow him to leave to a rival.

  3. Villafan in peace,I am a great admirer of ESR.I believe this will not happen,in my humble opinion,it is agents doing what agents do,with the objective being to put the player in a position of strength when negotiating.A win win for these parasites,Emile gets a bumper deal,amd the agent gets a larger slice of £££.All the best.

  4. Totally agree.
    It will be a very sad time for AFC, or should I say Arsenal fans.
    I will be disgusted if they let him leave!

  5. But don’t you find it a tad exciting…. I mean, it’s more fun that Eastenders.

  6. I can’t believe Villa are getting any encouragement from us especially when talking in the region of £30 odd million. Even at £60 million I think it would alienate the supporters from the club too much. I just can’t believe we would sell him at the moment. Maybe in 5 years the time and price might be right but not now.

  7. Think ESR is close to leaving if a third bid does come in. Front line of Front 4 of

    —————-Watkins——-

    Grealish——ESR——-Buendia

    Will be a fearsome attack challenging for the top 4. Grealish is also on the verge on signing and contract extension and Villa are only going to go from strength to strength with billionaire owners backing them all the way.

    1. No chance what so ever. You can have all the money you like but ESR will not be going to villa he is Arsenal through & through! Grealish will not be an Aston Villa player next season. We had the worst season in a very long time & you still finished below us. Villa for top 4 in your dreams

      1. Mate
        That was our second season back in the premiership so not bad imo. But we don’t judge our own success against a poor North London club and never will
        We have possibly have the best owners in this league and they mean for us to break in to the top 6 with their superb financial backing
        ESR will see a club moving up this league and showing the ambition to meet his own
        That claret and blue shirt awaits him

        1. U guys just like passing your boundary, honestly. Is it not the same Aston villa that almost got relegated in 2019 ? And the poor performing Arsenal indirectly saved Aston villa from relegation by beating burnley in 2019. So shut the f***k up!

      2. Jimmer, why would ESR have more reason to stay with Arsenal, than Jack Grealish to stay with Aston Villa?
        Both have risen through their Club’s ranks; however Grealish has the added incentive of playing for the Club, where his grandfather achieved success.

      3. Look at our attacking players to what you have and tell me you seriously think you’ll be finishing above us. That’s right, Pepe is finally going to come good lol

    2. Agreed
      As a club on the up and our superb owners knowing that there a great chance of signing ESR
      We wouldn’t waste our time bidding a 3rd time unless there hasn’t been some prior understanding that the player or club are interested in a deal
      Arsenal shouldn’t be bad mouthing our club for attempting to buy ESR but should be looking on why a player seems willing to leave them

      1. You are both living in a dream world. Grealish is going & you will be lucky to be a mid table team next season. Don’t get me wrong we are not in a good place at the moment be we will still finish above you. Money can’t buy history & we are still far more successful & bigger club than you. Also who says ESR is willing to leave? Has the player stated that? No just media talk trying to create a story that does not exist. I would get to big for your boots if I were you as you might do what Sheffield united did! & anyway why are you on an Arsenal site stick to your own sites or are you not big enough club to have one

        1. Jimmer, you need to take off your Arsenal blinkers and read up on the history of Aston Villa.

          1. Here you go

            Arsenal
            The club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 16 FA Community Shields, the League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
            Aston Villa
            they have won the league title seven times, the FA Cup seven times and the League Cup five times, but the last time they won a cup was in 1996 and the last time they won the league title was in 1981

            How can you possibly judge these two clubs as equal on the basis of last season which was one of our worst in a long time. What club do you support I’m not so sure? Whilst you might not like the manager or owner that should not stop you supporting the club!

          2. Jimmer, I never argued they are equal, that is your misinterpretation. You don’t build up the great Arsenal FC, by denigrating another club. You yourself have pointed out our successful Aston Villa have been during their history. You might have added their three European trophies: 1 x European Cup/UEFA Champions League 1981/82, 1 x European Super Cup/UEFA Super Cup 1982, 1 x Inter Toto Cup 2001.
            To accuse me of not being an Arsenal supporter because I disagree with your belittling of another EPL club is downright ludicrous, considering I was probably supporting this Club through good times and bad since before you were born.

  8. Aston villa are simply Arsenal FC witch hunters.if they took our goalkeeper and want Smith Rowe our no 10 in the making. God forbid their move. Arteta and Edu will be digging their grave if they give out Smith Rowe for what ever fortune.

  9. What are they smoking at Villa park?They must be high on something.
    Oh, I get it, we once sold Martinez to them and they think they can always come to Arsenal to get any player they want.

    1. Let’s look at it he two scenarios with some logic…

      Arsenal fans believe Grealish is off to City when he has 4 years left and our owners have categorically said he’s not for sale…let’s not forget not even a City bid whilst we are negotiating a pay rise for Grealish.

      ESR – has 2 years left on his contract and since start of the year still hasn’t signed a contract extension…two bids have also come in meaning encouragement from within Arsenal for Villa to make the bid, with a rumoured third bid on the way. Clearly Arteta needs funds to rebuild otherwise he’s out, the only way he’s going to do that is sell someone like ESR, the likes of Pepe and the rest of the Arsenal forward line aren’t really saying much.

      Clearly monies tight having missed out on Buendia and struggling to get the White deal over the line.

  10. Except if the “encouragement” is coming from ESR himself, which I doubt. I mean, what’s there to prefer at Villa over Arsenal? Even in our worst season we still finished above them.
    But even assuming, for argument’s sake, ESR wants to join them, he still has all of two years on his Arsenal contract. So the club can afford to call anybody’s bluff.
    Come on, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over this

  11. The issue with transfer window rumours is most don’t even add up, what encouragement, ESR would never trade Arsenal for AV. He is the only creative player in our books atm, would be relishing the new season. Hearing it’s a 32.5mil bid. So, a meagre 2.5 increase would make Arsenal sell?.. complete Bullock’s I must say.. Not forgetting we need our home grown players, same reason we are looking at weird names within the league as a backup GK

    1. Mikel is not the issue…he’s been out in a corner by your owners who will simply not put their hands into their pockets.

  12. No chance at all. But if I were his agent, I would keep giving Villa hope so as to push up what Arsenal feels it has to pay. And if I were Villa, I would feel it might sell tickets, and that it could weaken Arsenal by forcing them to pay more. And if I were a Birmingham newspaper, I would feel that pushing the idea might sell papers.

    If Villa has the money, they can keep rising in the world. But Arsenal had the second-best record in the EPL after Christmas, below only City and above United, so they are on the way up, too.

    I do give credit to Villa for getting Martinez. Even at the time, I preferred the idea of selling Leno and keeping Emi, who is now clearly Argentina’s #1.

  13. 60 million is a little less. 70 million and then maybe worth a shout. Every player has a price and ESR does too.

  14. I’ve intentionally curtailed my presence on this site during recent times due to my utter frustration regarding the continuance of our all too familiar protractive approach when it comes to conducting business…I don’t give a flying f*** what other clubs are doing or not doing, as none of the usual comparables are facing such a seemingly daunting task, let alone entrusting this process to a collective of administrative lightweights…all I know is that until the powers that be finally recognize just how imperative it is that we rewrite our largely underwhelming recruitment narrative, this club will continue to flounder within the confines of our mystifying Groundhog Day Bizarro World… for far too long the only constants at this club have been ownership apathy, organizational dysfunction, unjustifiably inflated wages and our inability to properly address our most prominent needs in a timely fashion…now it appears as if we’re actually adding to our already lengthy list of organizational deficiencies visa vie our mishandling of many of our most talented youthful assets

    after the debacle, that was last year, I was under the impression, mistakenly so I guess, that the lesson gleaned from last season was that our fledgling leader should have started the ‘rebuild” from the get-go, through the fielding of a healthy balance of youthful and experienced players, instead of what transpired immediately following the ill-fated Willian purchase…as such, we stifled the developmental process, through the incessant shoehorning of players with no functional future at the club, while simultaneously deploying a neutered brand of gutless football, which might have irreparably damaged some player/fan relationships for no justifiable reason, as most of the players involved in our rather sad park the bus defensive experiment are either gone, rumoured to be on their way out and/or likely to be summarily replaced…what a godforsaken fustercluck

    mark my words, everyone, minus maybe Saka, is presently available for purchase…so anyone who says that ESR is going nowhere better not get too attached to that notion, as that’s far from a given…and by that I don’t mean if someone offers up some sort of ridiculous bid, like 60M, as some might suggest, as ESR would likely not survive his stay in North London if a number starting in a 4 was officially submitted

  15. Emr is Arsenal’s future star player. We have not been able to produce another similar fabregas kinda of player. Emr is the sort n maybe more. I am looking forward to him this coming season with some new exciting players to play n rotate together.

    Competitive teams like Aston villa and such will want to weaken Arsenal by robbing our such players so that Arsenal will not be competitive. Dun think short term think long term more.

    Still our board of ownership will need to play a part. It seems it has died off abit.

  16. Jack Grealish is at his boyhood club, chased by bigger clubs who win trophies, Villa fans think he’ll stay. ESR is at his boyhood club, being chased by a smaller club, villa fans think he’ll leave..

    1. I’m so certain Grealish is not going anywhere that I’ll come back when he signs the new extension to say I told you so. It’s all because of our owners who are winners…no coincidence Eden’s baseball team got to the final. They’ve already told Jack they do not wish to sell with 4 years left on his contract and ask yourself this, why haven’t City bid as they have for Kane?

      As for ESR, we’ve bid indicating one of two things, he wants to move or Arsenal are willing to sell, it’s that simple. I will predict Villa will finish above Arsenal in the coming season.

      It’s clear to see one club is on the up whilst the other is in decline…Martinez, Buendia and ESR can see this.

  17. Transfer rumours drive me up the wall. It becomes a roller coaster ride of emotions until a new player is unveiled or goes elsewhere and there are the obvious reasons why agents and journalists stir things up

  18. Villa fans are day dreaming. Arsenal was, is and will be a much much bigger global brand than Villa and Villa cannot be compared to Arsenal. Money cannot buy history, tradition and fans. As far as ESR leaving Arsenal, is concerned, its a big NO. Martinez was not happy playing the no.2 to Lenno so he left, but ESR is very happy at Arsenal. And mark my words Arsenal will surely finish above Villa.

    1. You obviously don’t know anything about Villa’s history then and you can’t really blame their fans coming on here giving it large. They won the European Cup (Champions League when only League Champions were in it), something we haven’t done and also won the league and cup 7 times each. They beat us twice last season, 1 nil at their place and 3 nil at the Emirates! They are a huge club awakening from their slumbers. They nicked Martinez from us for less than £20 million and now we are looking at spending far more on a back up, and if they do sell Grealish (they don’t need to) it will be for £100 million. I never bet against my team but us finishing above Villa this season is hardly a cert!

      1. Clearly neither do you:-
        Arsenal
        The club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 16 FA Community Shields, the League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
        Aston Villa
        they have won the league title seven times, the FA Cup seven times and the League Cup five times, but the last time they won a cup was in 1996 and the last time they won the league title was in 1981

        How can you possibly judge these two clubs as equal on the basis of last season which was one of our worst in a long time. What club do you support I’m not so sure? Whilst you might not like the manager or owner that should not stop you supporting the club!

        1. I’m with Declan
          Villa won the equivalent of the Champions league – something we have appeared in once and lost
          They have my respect for that alongside Nottingham Forest

    2. GFL, Arsenal is a bigger global brand yes; however Aston Villa cannot be reasonably denigrated on the basis of history and tradition.

      1. Encouragement from whom exactly? The Villa fan base and a host of their ex players?Utter nonsence.

  19. Neither Grealish nor Smith Rowe will be leaving their boyhood clubs this summer. The only encourage Villa are getting would be from Smith Rowe’s agent to improve the terms of his new deal and despite the rest of the country willing Grealish to leave this summer he won’t. He will see how much progress Villa have made in 12 months and then consider leaving. At City he would be rotated with Foden, De Bruyne, Sterling, Gundogan and Bernardo Silva. Grealish is the kind of player that wants to play every game. It may happen in a years time but he’s only 25 and can afford to give it a year before departing AVFC

  20. Good to read a bit of banter between Arsenal fans and fans from another Club instead of us arguing amongst ourselves

    The two Clubs are on a par, both with good history and at the moment we are both after the same thing, to find a way to compete over a season with Man City and Liverpool, both are capable now of competing with United, Chelsea, Leicester, West Ham and Spurs, who all finished above both of us last season, but both striving for more consistency over a full season

    Both Grealish and Smith Rowe could be sold this window, for the right price and opportunity, boyhood Clubs or not players need to look after their career both in terms of winning trophies and financial rewards

    Grealish at 25 is not that young really and he needs to decide whether he wants to move on to win trophies or believes that Villa can do so soon, he could well look at Kane who at 27 may have stayed 2 or 3 years too long at Spurs believing they would win a few things before (if we believe the media) deciding it’s time to seek that elsewhere, I honestly think all three will start next season with their current Clubs, but if City come knocking for any of them, who knows

    Support your Club
    Support your Manager
    Support your Players
    Support your Team

  21. Selling any one of these young stars will be very foolish of Arsenal. These were the ones who saved our season not the senior boys.

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