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Whilst most of the transfer talk surrounding Crystal Palace will be around the futures of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Wilfried Zaha, it’s easy to forget that the Eagles themselves will likely be in the market for new players.

With another season of Premier League football on the horizon, fans will be hoping the club make ambitious signings that can take the south London side further up the table, and one player to be rumoured with a move to Selhurst Park is Brentford attacker Ollie Watkins.

According to Sky Sports News, the former Exeter City star is on Palace’s radar.

After years of impressing in the English lower leagues, Watkins could be ready for the step-up to the Premier League.

But what have the experts said about the Brentford star ahead of what could be a summer of upheaval for the 23-year-old winger?

Dean Ashton – Former England international

With Gareth Southgate turning to a more youthful approach for the England national team, Championship stars now have legitimate hopes of catching the manger's eye.

We have already seen the likes of Mason Mount earn a call-up to the Three Lions squad, but Watkins has received some backing to follow in the Chelsea man's footsteps.

Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton, who was impressed by the 23-year-old attacker in both the 2017/18 campaign and during the early phase of the most recent season, had this to say on Quest’s EFL highlight show in 2018, via Devon Live: “The England manager should be looking at players in the Championship, especially players of the quality of Ollie Watkins who's only going to improve.

"I think that would give lots of players in the Championship a boost if they knew the England manager was watching. He was excellent last season and it's about consistency for him - certainly when it comes to goals as well. It was 10 league goals for him last season, he already looks like he's going to beat that."

Ryan Northmore – Former Weston-super-Mare manager

It took a while for Watkins to make a name for himself at Exeter, but after a successful loan-spell at non-league side Weston-super-Mare in the 2014/15 season, it was soon clear that the forward had a future in football. Nobody saw this clearer than then manager Ryan Northmore.

In an interview with the Bristol Post, the former professional goalkeeper said about the then Exeter star: “He has a lot of talent, he could run with the ball superbly with both feet and could do the bread and butter stuff very well. His talent eventually shone through and it’s proven to be the case at Exeter.

“He’s got speed and as well as playing up front, is very competent on the wing. You can also play him through the middle due to his great first touch. We played a 3-4-3 formation and he played in that top three. He was very flexible and offered us so many options.”

Dean Smith – Former Brentford manager

Although Exeter is the club that helped Watkins establish his name, it was with Brentford where the youngster was cast into the national limelight.

Then manager Dean Smith was quick to heap praise on Watkins following a pre-season game against MK Dons in the summer of 2017, the window the attacker joined Brentford from Exeter, saying in a post-match interview with the Evening Standard: "You saw Ollie Watkins, who can play in a number of positions, and he looks a hell of a player. We saw what he can do.”