Luke Hatfield and Joe Masi discussed all the latest West Bromwich Albion transfer news during the most recent edition of the Express and Star’s Baggies Broadcast podcast and Masi revealed that his “number one target” for Albion in the transfer market this summer would be Brentford striker Ollie Watkins.
Watkins enjoyed an impressive 2019/20 campaign, as he ended the regular season as the second-highest goalscorer in England’s second tier, scoring 25 goals in his 46 appearances for the Bees.
He helped the club to finish in third place in the Championship table and they went on to reach the Championship play-off final, which they ultimately lost 2-1 to Fulham.
The attacker has been linked with a move to a number of different clubs this summer, one being West Brom.
Masi shared his thoughts on this potential deal and recent reports that have claimed that the Brentford man ‘can leave for offers of more than £18m after a buyout clause in his contract was activated’ after Brentford’s play-off final loss to Fulham.
The journalist said: “Despite reports [that] came out the other day, I don’t think he’s got an £18m buyout. To be honest, I don’t see why he would.
“I know Brentford have spent a lot more money than people perhaps give them credit for, if that’s the right way of putting it, but I don’t see why Brentford would put a clause in a player’s contract to say ‘if we don’t go up, you would be available for a cheaper price’.
“I don’t think anyone, at the start of the season, was going ‘Brentford – definitely going up,’ so I don’t see why that clause would ever come into it.
“So, he is going to be, best-case scenario, £18m; worst-case scenario, a hell of a lot more. If I’m being honest, if money wasn’t an object, but you were going for a realistic target, I know that is a complete contradiction in terms, but he would be my number-one target.
“I think he’d be absolutely perfect for the system. I think he’s more than capable of stepping up, I think he’d be absolutely great, but I just don’t see it.”
Should Watkins be West Brom's top transfer target?
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TIF Thoughts…
It’s clear that Masi believes that Watkins would be a good signing for West Brom, declaring that the 24-year-old forward would be his “number one target” for the Baggies, and that may not come as a surprise considering how prolific the forward was during the 2019/20 campaign.
However, the journalist doesn’t appear to be confident about West Brom’s chances of securing the Brentford man’s signature and knowing that multiple other Premier League clubs are reportedly interested in him, it may be understandable why Masi believes that West Brom might struggle to sign Watkins if they do pursue his signature in this transfer window.