José Mourinho snubbed chance to sign Ollie Watkins for Tottenham

Updated: 02 Nov, 2024 • 0 • min read

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José Mourinho snubbed chance to sign Ollie Watkins for Tottenham

Photo: PA

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur director of football David Pleat has revealed how José Mourinho turned down the chance to sign Ollie Watkins in 2020.

In the summer of 2020, after a stunning season for Brentford, Watkins was reportedly on Tottenham's radar as a potential backup striker to Harry Kane.

Watkins ended the 2019/20 campaign as the Championship's joint top scorer and was crowned the 2020 Championship Player of the Year after netting 26 goals in 50 appearances for the club in all competitions.

The move never materialised, though, and the forward eventually signed for Aston Villa for a club-record £28 million.

Since then, Watkins has established himself as one of the Premier League's most promising forwards, known for his clinical finishing and work rate.

The 28-year-old has helped the Villans qualify for the Champions League and has solidified his status as England's No 2 striker behind Kane.

READ MORE: How Taylor Swift could help Ollie Watkins win Premier League Player of the Season

However, it has been revealed that Watkins could have played the same role at club level.

Former Tottenham manager, director and scout Pleat explained how then-Spurs boss Mourinho asked him about Watkins, before deciding that the £28 million price tag was too much.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Pleat said:

I spoke to José on a couple of occasions. I remember once he asked me about Ollie Watkins, I remember that quite clearly.

And at the time the price Brentford was £28 million, which Dean Smith took the opportunity at Villa - a lovely man, Dean Smith.

We decided that that was too much money. Or José decided it was too much money to pay for a cover forward for Harry Kane.

Current Fulham striker Carlos Vinícius was signed on loan from Benfica that summer instead, with the Brazilian scoring ten goals in all competitions.

And in the end, we went for Vinícius, a player who didn't do too well. We has one of two other players who came as cover for Kane. They weren't too successful, but they were cover players.

And we never really had the succession ready to take over from Kane when the inevitability came that he would leave the club.

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