Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told This Is Futbol in an exclusive interview that he is not surprised to hear that other teams were interested in Ollie Watkins last summer.
Watkins joined Villa from Brentford in a £28m deal before the start of this season, but he could have easily ended up at another club.
According to the man himself, speaking on the Sky Sports Super 6 podcast, both Tottenham and Leeds United showed interest in him before his eventual transfer to Villa.
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For Hendrie, the above comes as no shock, with the retired Premier League footballer feeling that Watkins more than proved himself in the Championship.
Speaking exclusively to TIF about the England striker, Hendrie said:
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there were a few clubs that were sort of hovering around Ollie Watkins at the time because of what he did in the Championship at Brentford.
“The likes of Leeds obviously talked about having him at the football club, and I think they would have been. I think they would’ve certainly looked at him.”
With Patrick Bamford fit and firing, it would have been fascinating to see how Marcelo Bielsa would have got both players into the team.
In the end, though, Watkins’ move to Villa worked out exceptionally well, with the 25-year-old finishing the campaign as the Villans’ top goalscorer.