Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has emerged as a surprise target for Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur have had a very mixed summer transfer window thus far.
Spurs wrapped up deals for Mathys Tel, Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus quickly, and even triggered the release clause of Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. However, Nottingham Forest raised an issue and threatened legal action against the North Londoners, which all but put the deal on standby. Eventually, a deal has fallen through and Gibbs-White has put pen to paper on a new three-year deal.
Elsewhere, the Lilywhites have been also on the lookout for a new striker. Thomas Frank has given the green light for Richarlison’s departure. The 28-year-old is attracting interest from Turkish clubs and is also being monitored by Brazilian outfits. With the Brazil international seemingly on his way out, Spurs are already eyeing his replacement.
Aston Villa striker emerges on Tottenham radar
Aston Villa signed Ollie Watkins several years ago from Brentford after he impressed in the Championship and he’s since proven himself in the Premier League. Jhon Duran took the 29-year-old’s place in the first XI earlier last season, before he lost his place to loanee Marcus Rashford.
The England international has seemingly made it known he will not accept being a squad player next season amid uncertainty surrounding his future at Villa Park. Aston Villa have ‘privately’ let it be known that Ollie Watkins will be sold at the right price this summer after rejecting a £60million bid from Arsenal late in the January transfer window.
Now, according to a report from Football Insider, Tottenham and Manchester United are keeping tabs on Watkins’ situation at Villa, but have not made a concrete move thus far. Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has been identified as a potential replacement for Watkins by Unai Emery.
After missing out on Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres, Manchester United are ready to step up their interest in the Villa star. This means Spurs must act quickly if they genuine harbour an interest in the English striker.
Spurs need a back-up for Dominic Solanke
Spurs broke their club-transfer record to sign Dominic Solanke from Premier League rivals Bournemouth last summer. Regardless of him enduring a mixed season, they are fully backing Solanke to come good this term and become the main man in Thomas Frank’s attack.
As Frank already has a proven striker to lead his team’s attack, it does not make sense for Tottenham to splash big on another established Premier League commodity in Watkins. Given the World Cup is happening next summer, Watkins will want to become the primary striker and a regular starter for any club if he leaves Villa this summer. The presence of Solanke at White Hart Lane will not allow Watkins to immediately become a regular starter under Frank.
So, unless Tottenham decide to sell Solanke, it would make no sense to sign Watkins. Instead, Daniel Levy should look for a lesser-known profile to act as a back-up for our club-record signing during the 2025/26 campaign.
