By Alex McLeish

14th May, 2022 | 8:30am

Ollie Watkins: McLeish issues £50m-plus Aston Villa transfer claim after West Ham twist

Alex McLeish has insisted £50million would be a fair price if Aston Villa are to sell Ollie Watkins this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Villa boss claimed the 26-year-old is “one of the best strikers in the Premier League.”

As reported by the Guardian (10 May), Villa would likely demand at least £50million for the centre-forward amid interest from West Ham.

David Moyes has reportedly made Watkins one of his top targets this summer.

Villa signed the striker from Brentford for a reported £28million back in 2020.

McLeish insisted a £22million price rise is “normal evolution” considering Watkins’ performances in the Premier League.

Asked if he thought £50million would be a fair price, McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “I think it would be normal evolution. That for me is his price.

“I think there’s more to come from him if he can keep growing in confidence. Not that he lacks confidence but if he can keep growing his knowledge of the game and study the best strikers.

“He’s already one of one of the best strikers in the Premier League. He’s got fantastic pace, he reads the game well, he nearly embarrassed Liverpool the other night with the charge down on the goalkeeper. I like Watkins.”

The Villa striker has scored 10 times in 32 Premier League appearances this season.

He has a total of 24 top-flight strikes under his belt since joining Villa.

Steven Gerrard also has Danny Ings to call upon in terms of senior strikers.

In other news, pundit claims Steven Gerrard wants first-team star out after message sent to Aston Villa board.