---
title: "Leeds: Ben Jacobs says Ollie Watkins move ‘would excite’ supporters"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/watkins-leeds-transfer-latest-excite-fans-ben-jacobs/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Follow up"
published: "2022-08-23T16:20:14Z"
modified: "2022-08-23T16:20:14Z"
---

# Leeds: Ben Jacobs says Ollie Watkins move ‘would excite’ supporters

**[Leeds United](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/leeds-united-news/) bringing in Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins ‘would excite’ supporters, according to journalist [Ben Jacobs](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor).**

### The Lowdown: Watkins linked with Leeds

The Whites appear to be on the hunt for a new forward before the September 1 deadline and have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old.

Jacobs was the reporter who broke the news of Leeds’ [interest](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/leeds-united-news/leeds-jesse-marschs-side-monitoring-ollie-watkins/) in the England international earlier this month, saying that those from Elland Road are ‘monitoring developments’ amid [rumours](https://www.footballinsider247.com/aston-villa-watkins-sources/) of unrest at Villa Park.

Watkins, who Michael Owen has called a [‘top, top player’](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/top-player-michael-owen-lavishes-23306239), scored his [first](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdaten/spieler/324358) goal of the season in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace over the weekend, adding to his [two](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/leistungsdaten/spieler/324358) assists against Everton the week before.

### The Latest: Jacobs’ comments

Talking to [GiveMeSport](https://www.givemesport.com/88050443-leeds-33m-premier-league-star-would-excite-fans-at-elland-road) about Leeds and Watkins, Jacobs said that a move to Elland Road for the 26-year-old ‘would excite Leeds fans’, although he added that a transfer may not be able to be finalised quickly.

The CBS reporter stated:

> “I think Ollie Watkins is the one that would excite Leeds fans the most, but there’s nothing to suggest that they can get a deal done quickly.
>
> “Between now and when the window closes – unless these Villa denials are more PR, there is an underlying tension and Watkins does want a fresh challenge at that point – perhaps Leeds will see a window of opportunity to capitalise.”

[![Latest Leeds United news](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg)](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-50/)

### The Verdict: Unlikely?

Watkins still has three years left to run on his Villa [deal](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/profil/spieler/324358) and is valued at a career-high £31.5m by [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ollie-watkins/profil/spieler/324358), so you’d expect that it would take a big-money offer to tempt the Midlands club into selling, especially to a [Premier League](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-news/) rival.

The money is there at Elland Road for a marquee addition following a [€40m](https://sempremilan.com/leeds-united-special-de-ketelaere-milan) (£33.7m) agreement for Charles De Ketelaere before he ultimately joined AC Milan, so it could be one to watch, although it does seem unlikely.

\[freshpress-poll id=”404803″\]

Everton have also made an [approach](https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-everton-make-move-to-sign-ollie-watkins-after-aston-villa-sources-reveal/) of their own for Watkins, so Victor Orta could be better off looking abroad in search of better value for money, as Leeds have done with their [six](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/leeds-united/transfers/verein/399) first-team signings so far this summer.