Aston Villa centre-forward Ollie Watkins has said that he will continue to 'let his football do the talking' amid the speculation surrounding his future.
The 27-year-old scored a hat-trick as Villa recorded a 6-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Watkins has now netted seven times in all competitions for Unai Emery's side this season, and he has registered in back-to-back league matches, having also scored against Chelsea last weekend.
The treble is the forward's second of the campaign, as he also hit three against Hibernian during the qualification round for the Europa Conference League.
There is currently speculation surrounding his future, with both Arsenal and Chelsea said to be keen on a player who has less than two years left to run on his current agreement.
A recent report claimed that the Englishman was on the verge of signing a new contract at Villa Park.
When asked for an update on the situation following his hat-trick against Brighton, Watkins said that he is only focusing on his football.
"I just try and let my football do the talking. My goal is to score goals and help the team win. What happens off the pitch is separate," the forward told TNT Sports on Saturday afternoon.
"It was a good performance from us. We bounced back here and they play some good stuff so it is a great result."
Watkins was also asked about scoring three times in front of watching England head coach Gareth Southgate.
"To be honest, I don't know when he is here. It is nice when he is but I want to perform and score every game. There have been a few times this season when I have been disappointed and there is always a chance to put it right. I am going to enjoy it," he added.
"Someone told me about my record [against Brighton] before the match. Every game I want to score and hurt their defence and it worked today. Collectively, we were second to none. Credit to the boys."
Watkins also said that he is "always" developing under the management of Villa boss Emery.
"If I haven't scored, he continues to keep talking to me and telling me to work hard every day and goals will come," added the striker, who has been capped on seven occasions by England.
Villa will be aiming to build on their win over Brighton when they welcome Zrinjski to Villa Park in the Europa Conference League next week. body check tags ::
