Ollie Watkins has revealed the reason why he decided to join Aston Villa despite rumoured interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
The Birmingham Mail claimed that Jose Mourinho’s side made a late attempt to try and lure the Brentford striker to North London but ultimately missed out after he completed a £28million switch to Villa Park and penned a five-year deal.
Watkins was the Championship’s joint-top scorer last season with 26 goals and after the Bees failed to beat Fulham in the play-off final, has still ensured that he will be playing Premier League football this season (Sky Sports).
The striker said that the influence of Dean Smith, who he had previously worked under at Brentford – played a pivotal role in his decision to move to Villa.
Football.London claim that Tottenham are on the lookout for a new striker ahead of the transfer window closing next month but face a challenge with players showing reluctance to come to the club and play second fiddle to Harry Kane.
“I’m delighted, it’s been a long time coming,” he told Villa TV. “But, I’m buzzing now and I can’t wait to get going.
“The fact that it’s a massive club, Dean sold it to me. I’m definitely excited to work with Dean again and I’m looking forward to getting started.”
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Asked how important Smith’s influence was in his decision making, he added: “Massive, he sold it to me as soon as I met him. I told my agent, ‘I really want to get that sorted’, as soon as I heard they were interested. They gave me a lot of confidence playing under them at Brentford and hopefully they can do that again now.
“I really wanted to work with Dean and it’s a massive club.”
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