Buyout clause means Watkins can leave Brentford for £18m

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Ollie Watkins of Brentford

Ollie Watkins can leave Brentford for £18m this summer.

A buyout clause in Watkins’ contract enables him to move for that price now the club have missed out on promotion.


The clause was inserted into a contract Watkins signed at Griffin Park last year.

That deal was signed after Crystal Palace tried to sign him but were unable to reach an agreement with the Bees – West London Sport had revealed the Eagles’ interest in Watkins.

Palace have continued to monitor him, while Aston Villa’s former Brentford boss Dean Smith is also interested in signing Watkins.

Watkins, 24, has impressed in the Championship since being signed from Exeter City in 2017.

And he was a revelation after being deployed as a striker.

Having previously operated mostly as a winger, Watkins was used as a centre-forward following last summer’s sale of Neal Maupay to Brighton.

He responded in emphatic fashion, scoring 25 goals in a remarkable season.

However, the season ended in disappointment, with Brentford’s defeats in the final two regular games costing them promotion before Fulham beat them in Tuesday’s play-off final to clinch a return to the top flight.