One of Tottenham’s main transfer priorities this summer was to sign a backup striker.
The London club explored a number of options including Callum Wilson and Arkadiusz Milik, but they eventually settled on Carlos Vinicius.
Jose Mourinho’s side brokered a deal to bring in the 25-year-old on an initial loan with a £41m option to buy, but they should be rueing missing out on one cheaper and younger option.
Indeed, Ollie Watkins is one player that Spurs looked into, but they opted to sign Vinicius instead, and as the weeks go by, that decision is looking worse and worse.
Watkins has undoubtedly been one of the signings of the season so far for Aston Villa, netting six goals in seven appearances, including a hat-trick against Liverpool and a brace against Arsenal.
Spurs had a keen interest in the former Brentford man, but for one reason or another he ended up at Villa Park.
Watkins now looks like an absolute bargain at just £28 million, which is £13 million less than Spurs may end up paying for Vinicius, and he’s been a lot more effective than the Brazilian up until this point.
Of course, Watkins wouldn’t have such a high goal tally if he had to play second-fiddle behind Harry Kane, but he would offer Mourinho an extra dynamic off the bench, and he’s adjusted to Premier League football much quicker than Vinicius has.
There can’t be too many complaints about Spurs’ attack so far this season, with Tottenham netting 19 goals in eight league games so far.
However, there is always the dark cloud of a potential injury following Kane around, and if his fitness problems crop up again, Spurs may be wishing that they’d signed the 24-year-old in the summer.
We can only hope that Vinicius can step up to Watkins’ level in the coming months.
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