‘Most valuable striker in England’ – EFL club doubles asking price for reported WBA target
Crawley Town Director of Football Erdem Konyar has declared that reported West Brom target Max Watters is the ‘most valuable striker in England’.
West Brom are just one of several clubs keeping tabs on the prolific League Two star who was recently valued at £1 million, according to The Daily Mail.
Speaking to the Crawley Observer, Konyar has declared that he has doubled his asking price for Watters as he continues to impress for the Red Devils.
He said, “On current form, we have an inflating price weekly. I got a call from a club from a higher league last week and they asked how much. I said £1mllion. He laughed me off. He’s got a hat-trick since then. If he rings me today I will say £2 million.”
“For me, he’s the most valuable striker in England. The fact he is 21 years old and he won’t matter for the squad registration and the salary cap makes him more valuable. But there is strong interest and from abroad as well. He is a fantastic kid and full credit to the gaffer [John Yems] for spotting him.”
“The price has got to be right, the lads got to be happy. He is one of us, everyone likes him, he’s a top boy. It’s got to be right for everyone. If we get an offer we can’t refuse, then we will have to look at it. We are not desperate to sell and we are not in a desperate situation financially.”
Watters has been in sparkling form since he joined Crawley in the summer and after scoring a hat-trick at the weekend he now has 12 goals in 12 League Two outings.
There is no doubt that interest will be high in such a talented young forward but it is hard to see any club paying £2 million for a striker who has only scored goals in the fourth tier of English football.
Perhaps Watters would be worth purchasing for some clubs as he could be sent on loan to League One or the Championship to cut his teeth before he is offered a crack at Premier League football.
But it is hard to see the Baggies forking out £2 million for Watters, especially with the limited funds the club has available.
Albion should save as much money as they can and look to loan a striker in January who has a history of finding the net in the Premier League.
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