Bilic identifies Championship player as West Brom top target this summer – report
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic has made Brentford striker Ollie Watkins his “top target” for the summer transfer window, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reports that Bilic is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement the Baggies have made in the transfer market since winning promotion to the Premier League.
As it stands, Matheus Pereira’s permanent switch to The Hawthorns is the clubs only piece of business since finishing second in the Championship.
Watkins, 24, scored 26 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions last season as Brentford reached the Championship play-off final.
The Mail reports that he is valued at £25million by Brentford while other reports that suggested that the ex-Exeter forward is keen on joining West Brom’s rivals Aston Villa [Sky Sports].
Watkins’ price-tag and eagerness to reunite with Dean Smith at Villa Park suggest that West Brom’s interest in him is a non-starter.
Bilic needs to sign a new striker before the new Premier League season kicks off in a few weeks’ time because there’s no way Albion can expect to survive in the top-flight with a strike force of Charlie Austin, Hal Robson-Kanu and Kenneth Zohore.
Watkins is a cut above all of them but he seems to be too far out of Albion’s reach unless the club can raise funds by selling players or get some investment from Chinese owner Guochuan Lai, who has not pumped a single penny into the club since buying it in 2016.
In other West Brom news, this defender is set to exit the club.
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