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Tottenham held extensive talks with striker and £28m star was 'desperate' for transfer
Tottenham's striker hunt finally came to end when they landed Benfica forward Carlos Vinicius.
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Ollie Watkins was reportedly itching to join Tottenham after talks with the club. The Aston Villa frontman has been a revelation since arriving in the Premier League from Brentford for £27million.
He struck 26 times in the Championship last season for the Bees as they suffered play-off final heartache to west London rivals Fulham.
Watkins still did enough to earn his move to the top flight and there were several clubs after his services.
Those included Crystal Palace and Fulham but it was Tottenham that came close to signing the striker before he joined Aston Villa.
According to Football Insider, Spurs were in pole position to bring him to north London.
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Daniel Levy held extensive talks with the player's camp and Brentford over a potential move.
He then decided that Tottenham could not afford his price tag as Brentford demanded cash up front.
That's how Spurs eventually signed Vincius from Benfica, securing a loan with an option to buy for £27m.
Spurs had also looked at various other striker targets including Callum Wilson, Arkadiusz Milik, Bas Dost and Wout Weghorst.
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Any forward who signed for the club would be well aware they would be set for limited minutes in Harry Kane's shadow.
Watkins is now playing regularly in the Premier League and put Liverpool to the sword last weekend, scoring a first-half hat-trick in the 7-2 thrashing of the champions.
It was a performance that highlighted his quality and saw Villa praised for their recruitment strategy.
The 24-year-old ran Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ragged and he revealed after the match that it was his plan to expose Liverpool's high line.
"We saw how high they play and the game plan was to try and get in behind them and you could see it worked," said after his treble.
"It was more about blocking off the passing lanes and just making sure they can't pass through us. We knew it would be hard but we all worked together and it showed tonight.
"Before the game I didn't think I'd score three goals but after the first one I got confidence and grew into the game and got chances.
"I should have got more in the end. One on one with the keeper... I've got to be scoring that. You can always improve and I think I'd back myself to score that."