Leeds United are ‘serious’ about signing Brentford forward Ollie Watkins this summer, according to Beren Cross of LeedsLive.
Thomas Frank’s side narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League having suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Tuesday night, courtesy of Fulham.
As a result of the Londoners missing out, it is understood that Watkins can now leave the club for £18m as his buyout clause has now been activated (via BBC Sport). During a recent Q&A session, a supporter asked whether the Yorkshire club were ‘serious’ about potentially bringing both the striker and Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia to Elland Road this summer to which Cross responded: ‘They are serious on Watkins. I know less about the Buendia pursuit, but I have heard his name mentioned before this window. A player Orta has liked for a while and with Norwich down, he will be obtainable for the right money if they want him enough.’
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Brentford signed Watkins from Exeter City back in July 2017 in a deal reportedly worth £1.8m and according to Transfermarkt, his stock has risen dramatically with the player now believed to be worth in excess of £10m.
The 24-year-old enjoyed an excellent campaign in the second-tier last season, even if it did end in play-off heartbreak. He scored an impressive 25 goals and provided three assists in 46 appearances, finishing second in the Championship goalscoring chart, just behind Aleksandar Mitrovic (as per Squawka).
It’s understood that Crystal Palace lead a number of clubs interested in the forward but given his impressive displays throughout the 2019/20 campaign, we can assume the Leeds faithful will take encouragement from the fact their side are serious about potentially landing such a highly sought-after talent.