Tottenham Hotspur's striker pursuit has taken an interesting new twist this week and if reports are to be believed, then a year-long issue could be ironed out completely in north London...

What's the word?

According to The Sun's Alan Nixon, Spurs are set to make a dramatic late move for talismanic Brentford striker Ollie Watkins and will battle Premier League rivals Aston Villa for his signature.

It's claimed that Jose Mourinho wants a new forward with the Bees star able to provide cover for Harry Kane and can also play out wide on either flank.

Daniel Levy will have to fork out £22m to clinch him but they could offer wages in excess of £70k-per-week to trump the competition. Meanwhile, it's been suggested elsewhere that Thomas Frank would sell Watkins, but only for £25m.

Long-term problem

Having an alternative in attack is something that Spurs have rued all season following last summer's departure of Fernando Llorente. It's no secret that they struggled when Kane picked up an injury, crashing out of all cup competitions.

Their top-six rivals all have strength in depth - Arsenal have both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette while Chelsea have Timo Werner, Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham, for example.

Watkins would be an expensive backup, but one that could well genuinely compete for a starting spot amongst Mourinho's XI. The 24-year-old scored a whopping 26 times for Brentford last season as they failed to clinch promotion at the final hurdle.

He also averaged 2.7 shots, 1.5 key passes and 0.8 dribbles per appearance, via WhoScored, so there's certainly more than just goals to his game.

Trevor Sinclair believes Watkins has a bit of ex-Spurs star Jermain Defoe about him, claiming he's "lethal" whilst his former Exeter boss Paul Tisdale claimed the enigmatic talisman has "got everything" and has the "perfect attitude".

In reality, it seems like a matter of time before Watkins is in the top-flight and Levy must ensure it's for them rather than someone else otherwise it'll come back to haunt them - and not for the first time either.

AND in other news, Mourinho must unleash the next Sol Campbell this season...