Could Ollie Watkins’ £20m+ asking price put off Tottenham?

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keeping an eye on Ollie Watkins’ progress in the Championship.

It was reported by the Daily Mail last month that Ollie Watkins was one of the Championship players that was being monitored by Tottenham as Mauricio Pochettino looks to freshen up a squad that remained unchanged over the summer.

Watkins is unquestionably one of the most exciting talents in the second tier. His form with Brentford has understandably caught Premier League attention and it appears inevitable that he will be playing in the top flight sooner rather than later.

The Bees are clearly hoping that he will be plying his trade at the highest level in their ranks though, with Sky Sports reporting on Monday that they want a fee in excess of £20 million for the 22-year-old.

It looks highly possible that Watkins could go on and justify that kind of fee in the future. He has scored 16 goals in 60 games since moving to Griffin Park, and most of his appearances have seen the youngster start on the left rather than as a central forward.

Nevertheless, given that Spurs failed to complete deals for the likes of Jack Grealish and Wilfried Zaha in the summer – as reported by the Mail – it surely seems fair to say that it appears unlikely that Tottenham will make their move for Watkins if his asking price is really that high.

With the new stadium likely to hamper how much Pochettino can spend in the transfer market, Spurs must surely focus on making some marquee signings who are much more likely to make an immediate impact rather than those who could flourish further down the line.

Watkins is a player that could make his current asking price look like a bargain, but spending more than £20 million on him in January probably does not look like the best way to appease the disgruntled Spurs fans if Pochettino’s budget does not offer a lot of room to manoeuvre.