Another mistake by Leeds? Former target Ollie Watkins linked with £10m Premier League move

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Bournemouth and Burnley want to sign Ollie Watkins from Championship side Brentford – will Leeds United now be ruining their 2017 failure?

Leeds United will not be playing Premier League football next season but a player they tried very hard to sign last year will be, according to TEAMtalk.

The West Yorkshire giants were linked with Exeter City’s exciting young winger Ollie Watkins for a number of months as the 2016/17 season drew to a close, as reported by The Star. The 22-year-old had scored 15 goals in a superb breakthrough season for The Grecians and was rewarded for his efforts with the EFL Young Player of the Year award.

But Leeds missed out. Instead, Watkins headed to Championship rivals Brentford for £1.8 million (Sky Sports) and has spent all season showing Leeds what they’re missing, notching 10 goals and starring as The Bees thrashed The Whites 3-1 at Griffin Park back in November.

And, just to rub salt into the wounds, TEAMtalk claim that Watkins is set for a move to the Premier League with Bournemouth and Burnley willing to pay £10 million.

Brentford, then, look set to quadruple their investment and could legitimately claim that they have made one of the best pound for pound signings in the Championship this season.

Leeds, meanwhile, have suffered due to their baffling approach to recruitment, Victor Orta’s motley crew of unknowns, imports and flops struggling to make any sort of impression as Paul Heckingbottom’s side limp towards the end of the season with a top half finish their only realistic aim.

Leeds’ decision to sign Jay-Roy Grot, Mateusz Klich, Felix Wiedwald and co has attracted no shortage of criticism, but the failure to complete a deal for Watkins looks very costly, in every sense of the word.