Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates against Everton
Leeds United could reignite their interest in Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins, but he won’t come cheap, according to The Daily Express.
The Lowdown: Watkins links
The Whites were linked with a move for Watkins following their promotion to the Premier League in 2020 before bringing in Rodrigo.
Leeds were once again rumoured to make a move for the England international over the summer, with journalist Ben Jacobs reporting the club were monitoring Watkins’ situation.
As we know, a move never materialised, but Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta could well look again in the New Year.
The Latest: January rumours
The Daily Express looked at four potential attacking additions at Elland Road after Jesse Marsch admitted he plans to discuss January targets in the coming weeks when asked about signing a striker.
Their report name-checked Watkins, saying that Villa ‘might consider a transfer to a Premier League rival’, adding that ‘the Elland Road hierarchy would likely need to come up with a huge sum of money to tempt Villa into selling Watkins’.
The Verdict: Possible?
Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal proved to everyone at Leeds that signing a new forward in the New Year may now be a necessity.
Rodrigo’s first-half error led to the Gunners’ opener, while Patrick Bamford would have had a hat-trick if he had his shooting boots on.
Bamford has also had plenty of injury issues in the last 12 months and looks like he’ll need time to get back up to speed, so bringing in someone like Watkins could be a smart idea.
He has plenty of Premier League experience, and although he isn’t firing during the current campaign, Watkins, labelled a ‘top player’ by Michael Owen, would still provide another high-quality attacking option.
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