Former Tottenham boss 'really wanted' to sign Exeter's Ollie Watkins before he was a striker
Tottenham legend David Pleat has revealed he wanted the club to sign Ollie Watkins.
Watkins, now starring as a striker for the Aston VillaHe began his senior career with the then League Two side. City of Exeter.
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After winning the EFL Young Player of the Year award in 2017 with the Grecians, a number of top English clubs began to take notice.
In the end, Watkins signed for the then championship team. Brentford That summer.
But Watkins had also attracted interest in the Premier League, with former Tottenham manager and consultant Pleats saying Tottenham were one of the clubs interested in him.
Joining the Sunday edition of talkSPORT, he said: “I was interested in Ollie Watkins When I was in Exeter.
“Long before[he was a striker]when he was a box-to-box player, with excellent management from Paul Tisdale and Steve Perryman.
“That’s when I really wanted him to come to Spurs. He wasn’t a centre-forward back then.”
In the 2016/17 season, his last with Exeter, Watkins scored 16 goals and recorded 13 assists in 52 appearances as a versatile forward.
The Greeks lost 2-1 to Blackpool in the play-off final with him as a starter in attack – and Pleat, who had played a role in the signing of young talents Give it to him of MK Giftsremember the occasion.
He continued: “He played in attack in a play-off final at Wembley, where he didn't play particularly well.”
That summer, Watkins joined Dean Smith's Brentford for a fee of £1.8 million.
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“When he went to Brentford he didn’t play in attack,” Pleat continued. “He played on the left wing or in midfield with a lot of energy, but he never showed that ability to play as a striker.”
Watkins then moved on to become a pure striker, forming the Bees' 'BMW': the forward line consisting of Said Benrahma, Watkins and Bryan Mbeumo low Thomas Frank.
After the Bees missed out on promotion, Watkins was sold to Aston Villa and reunited with former Bees boss Smith.
Pleat continued: “But Dean Smith “He took the opportunity anyway, Smith knew him well and obviously for £28m Villa got a very good centre-forward.”
The England international has scored 70 goals for Villa in 171 appearances in all competitions.
He became a national hero at Euro 2024 when he scored A spectacular goal at the end Against Holland in the semi-finals.
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