Man Utd cannot be serious if they think Ollie Watkins is worth £30m less than Bryan Mbeumo

Telegraph

2 days ago

There is a story that former Tottenham Hotspur insiders tell about Harry Kane that may well be of interest to his England team-mate Ollie Watkins.
Rewind four years, when Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wanted to sign Kane in the same summer the club paid a then British record £100m to take Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.
City never got close to matching Tottenham's valuation of Kane, with some of those in the know at the time claiming that the club's bid did not get much higher than a guaranteed £60m with an assortment of different bonuses.
City may well dispute that and will no doubt have their own version of events. But what former insiders recall without any doubt is a story of how Fabio Paratici, then managing director of football at Spurs, delivered the brutal truth to Kane and his advisors.
In Paratici's mind it was obvious. Guardiola wanted Kane, but City did not. Not really, anyway. They may have been prepared to go through the motions, but there was no conviction to their pursuit of the striker.
It is said that Paratici delivered a masterclass in honesty to Kane, who eventually stayed at Tottenham and watched City sign Erling Haaland the following summer.
Like Paratici, Villa's vastly experienced president of football operations Monchi has seen it all before and must surely have a similar view of Manchester United's supposed interest in Watkins.
Just a few days after Telegraph Sport revealed that Villa had told United that Watkins is not for sale, reports emerged from the Old Trafford club's tour of the United States that the striker remains one of two top targets along with Benjamin Sesko.
United have not made a bid for Watkins, but it is said they are unwilling to offer more than £45m should they decide to do so. That should tell the 29-year-old everything he needs to know – that United do not really want him. Just as Arsenal did not, when they approached Villa with a similar fee in mind in January.
Going through the motions
Maybe United manager Ruben Amorim highly rates Watkins, but the club clearly do not. It will, of course, be argued that his age limits his value. But the fact is that United believe the England international is worth around £30m less than Bryan Mbeumo and £20m less than Matheus Cunha.
City cannot have been serious if they believed Grealish was worth more than Kane four years ago and United cannot be serious if they think Watkins is worth so much less than Mbeumo and Cunha. It smacks of going through the motions.
That should sound alarm bells ringing in the head of Watkins if it has been turned in the direction of Old Trafford at all. Just as in the case of City and Kane, there is no conviction to United's supposed interest. It must be assumed that the club are either trying to please Amorim or simply view Watkins as being better than nothing.
There has been talk that Villa would have sold Watkins for £60m in January and might still do this summer if their resolve is truly tested. But the Midlands club surely will not find it hard to find a two-word answer – starting and ending in 'f' – if United really do come calling with a bid of around £45m.
Arsenal never returned for Watkins and instead signed Viktor Gyokeres, who is only two years younger, in a deal worth £64m. If United do not sign him this summer, then it is fair to assume they will not return for Watkins either. By next year, the club will have moved on – perhaps even to Kane, who sources believe could be available in the summer of 2026.
Just as Kane deserved a club that truly wanted and valued him, so does Watkins. United may say differently, but they have already proved they do not.