Aston Villa set to miss out on striker as £25m ‘talks’ held with league rivals
Aston Villa may have felt they were on-course to push along with a transfer for a top striker target, but interest from rivals Leeds, Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Brom has intensified to put a spanner in the works of a potential deal.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Fulham are ‘in talks’ with Brentford over a prospective £25million deal to take 24-year-old goalscorer Ollie Watkins to the Premier League.
Fulham the most recent to show interest – the Cottagers of course defeated Brentford to win promotion in the play-off final. A move to Fulham would be a short trip locally in west London for Ollie Watkins.
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith worked with Watkins during his spell as manager of the Bees and there is believed to be admiration from both sides, but it may be that money talks with a move to Fulham.
Ollie Watkins scored 26 goals in-total last season in the Championship (including the play-offs).
