---
title: "Celtic: Charlie Nicholas urges Hoops to sign Ollie Watkins this month"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-charlie-nicholas-urges-hoops-to-sign-ollie-watkins-this-month/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Features"
published: "2020-01-09T10:00:32Z"
modified: "2020-01-09T10:00:32Z"
---

# Celtic: Charlie Nicholas urges Hoops to sign Ollie Watkins this month

**[Former Celtic striker](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=5845) Charlie Nicholas has identified an England-based forward who he feels could be “a potential long-term replacement for Odsonne Edouard” at Parkhead.**

\[freshpress-poll id=”271770″\]

Speaking to the [Daily Express](https://www.express.co.uk/) \[[via Daily Record](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/charlie-nicholas-turns-celtic-transfer-21232860)\], the 58-year-old has urged the Hoops to make a move for Brentford’s Ollie Watkins in the January transfer window.

Nicholas is hoping that his former club will move quickly for the 24-year-old, who is currently the [second-highest scorer in the English Championship](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/torschuetzenliste/wettbewerb/GB2/saison_id/2019), before Premier League clubs enter the race for him.

He told the [Daily Express](https://www.express.co.uk/) \[[via Daily Record](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/charlie-nicholas-turns-celtic-transfer-21232860)\]: “Ollie Watkins is the sort of player Celtic should be trying to land this month.

“If you want real stardust and a potential long-term replacement for Odsonne Edouard then I would be looking at the 24-year-old Brentford striker.

“I stay a lot in that area so I have watched a lot of this boy and he gets better and better every time I see him.

“The Englishman has scored 17 goals in 26 Championship games this season and can also play wide on the left.

“Brentford know he is going to be a top player. I’m not sure what his exact value is but it will be a lot more when the English Premier League clubs start to come in.

“At that point Celtic would have to forget him but they have a chance of nicking him this month for £10-12million.”

Having alluded to Watkins’ fine return of [17 goals in 26 league outings](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdaten/spieler/324358) in the current campaign, it’s quite understandable why Nicholas feels the Brentford man would be an astute addition for Celtic.

This is already his [most prolific campaign in senior football](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/324358), although he is by no means a one-season wonder.

The 24-year-old has hit double figures in the league alone for the fourth season in a row, with the last three of those at Championship level (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/324358)), so he can legitimately claim to be a consistently prolific marksman.

Nicholas’ comment about him being a long-term successor to Edouard is also pertinent in the wake of the [Daily Record](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/celtic-striker-odsonne-edouard-30m-21232799)‘s claim this week that Leicester are considering a £30m bid for the Frenchman.

The 21-year-old is Celtic’s second highest scorer this season with 16 goals, four times the amount that the Hoops’ other senior centre-forwards Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Issouf Bayo have managed between them. \[[via TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-glasgow/leistungsdaten/verein/371)\]

If Edouard is lured to Leicester at some point in 2020, Neil Lennon would have a huge hole to fill in his team, given the lack of goals from the centre-forward alternatives to the Frenchman.

Watkins’ splendid form this season, off the back of multiple prolific campaigns and at a relatively young age of 24, mark him out to be a sensible recommendation by Nicholas as a worthy transfer target for Celtic this month, especially if they can get in before the interests of English Premier League clubs are piqued.

***Celtic fans, do you agree with Nicholas’ recommendation of Watkins as a player that the Hoops should sign this month? Share your views in the comments section below!***