Aston Villa want to raid Brentford for Ollie Watkins

Aston Villa are interested in signing Ollie Watkins from Brentford in the summer transfer window, according to The Telegraph. It has been reported that Watkins has a release clause of £18 million in his contract at the Championship club, and that Premier League outfit Villa are ready to trigger it.

Brentford lost to Fulham in the Championship playoff final on Tuesday evening, and there is a chance that the Bees could lose some of their best players. Watkins, who can operate as a forward or as an attacking midfielder, is one of the best attack-minded footballers in the second tier of English football.

Villa narrowly avoided the dreaded drop to the Championship at the end of this past season, and Dean Smith’s side do need to sign a quality striker in order to stay away from a relegation dogfight in 2020-21. According to WhoScored, the 24-year-old scored 26 goals and provided three assists in 49 league games for Brentford this past season.