---
title: "Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs in the transfer race for £28m-valued Ollie Watkins"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/spurs-transfer-race-ollie-watkins/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Aston Villa"
published: "2020-09-07T15:30:29Z"
modified: "2020-09-07T15:30:29Z"
---

# Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs in the transfer race for £28m-valued Ollie Watkins

**Tottenham are reportedly in the mix to sign [Ollie Watkins](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-transfer-rumours/villa-fans-fume-watkins-price-tag/) from Brentford in the current transfer window.**

Journalist Alan Nixon tweeted (via [@reluctantnicko](https://twitter.com/reluctantnicko/status/1302512881548886016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1302512881548886016%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2F1597656-tottenham-target-really-special-goalscoring-ace)) that Spurs have joined Aston Villa in the race for the 24-year-old, with the Bees set to sell him to the club who can present the most enticing offer.

> VILLA. Fcae genuine competition from SPURS for Ollie Watkins. BRENTFORD sell to best bidder. Player goes to best club for him.
>
> — Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) [September 6, 2020](https://twitter.com/reluctantnicko/status/1302512881548886016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Last week, [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/09/02/aston-villa-win-race-sign-matty-cash-nottingham-forest-16m/)‘s John Percy reported that the Championship side want at least £28m to part with the centre-forward.

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/THE-BREAKDOWN.png)

Watkins had a huge part to play in Brentford’s run to the Championship play-off final last season, netting [26 goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/324358) as they came within one game of making it to the Premier League.

While primarily a centre-forward, he can also play on either flank as part of a front three (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/324358)), and Jose Mourinho currently has [only Harry Kane](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/kadernachposition/verein/148) as an out-and-out number nine in his squad.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”298398″\]

Statistically, there wasn’t much to separate Watkins from the Spurs striker last term. The Bees forward averaged [2.7 shots](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/148503/Show/Ollie-Watkins) and won [2.3 headers](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/148503/Show/Ollie-Watkins) per game, with Kane averaging [2.8 shots and 2.6 aerial duels](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/83532/Show/Harry-Kane) per game. However, Watkins bested the England captain for key passes per game, with [1.5](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/148503/Show/Ollie-Watkins) compared to the 27-year-old’s [0.9](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/83532/Show/Harry-Kane).

One possible question mark over the Brentford man, though, is his [lack of Premier League experience](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/detaillierteleistungsdaten/spieler/324358), which makes the reported asking price for £28m seem rather steep. Admittedly the Bees banked [£20m](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/brighton-amp-hove-albion/transferrekorde/verein/1237) for Watkins’ former team-mate Neal Maupay from Brighton last summer, with the Frenchman going on to score [10 Premier League goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/neal-maupay/leistungsdaten/spieler/217115) in 2019/20, but the 24-year-old has [never played at a higher level than the Championship](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/detaillierteleistungsdaten/spieler/324358).

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verdict.png)

Watkins is a proven scorer who could be a very useful backup option for Kane in Tottenham’s attack, but his lack of top-flight experience and substantial asking price could count against Spurs making a move for him.

\[freshpress-poll id=”317319″\]

Indeed, with Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy warning that the club would not be spending “[rivers of money](https://www.loopnewsbarbados.com/content/tottenham-borrow-ps175m-bank-england-1)” in this transfer window, and having already parted with just over £30m to bring in [Pierre-Emile Hojberg and Matt Doherty](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/transfers/verein/148), spending roughly the same amount on Watkins could be too much of a commitment for Spurs to gamble upon.

***Tottenham fans, do you think that Watkins will be a Spurs player by the end of the transfer window? Have your say by commenting below!***