Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is enjoying his most productive season, not only since Dean Smith brought him from Brentford to The Villans but in his whole footballing career. Now 28, Watkins recently retained his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad and dreams of making the plane to Germany for the UEFA European Championship Finals once the 2023/24 Premier League season ends.
To say the 1.8m striker has a chance of fulfilling this dream is putting it mildly. With 16 goals in 28 Premier League appearances this term and six more in eight Europa Conference League outings, the marksman has been in prime form in Villa’s claret and blue colours.
Although he couldn’t find the net in Aston Villa’s most recent outing, a 1-1 draw with West Ham, Watkins remains only two goals behind Man City’s superstar Norwegian Erling Haaland in the race for the golden boot.
According to sports and gambling expert, Ian Bruce, at the UK’s safest betting sites, Watkins, at 8/1, lies joint second in the odds for the prestigious EPL top scorer award, behind firm-favourite Haaland (2/7) and level with Liverpool’s talismanic Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah. Aston Villa’s sustained pursuit of a top-four EPL position at the season’s end comes down to Watkins’ consistently good form, not only as a goalscorer but also as a provider.
Besides running Haaland close in the Premier League’s scoring charts, the Torquay-born forward is also in joint top spot in the EPL assists table. Watkins’ 10 league assists means he’s level with only Brighton’s Pascal Groß and Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier.
Aston Villa is holding on to fourth position in the Premier League with nine games to go in the season. The Villans are three points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth spot, although Spurs have a game in hand. With the goal difference between the two only separated by a single goal, much will depend on Ollie Watkins to keep scoring and providing to keep his team ahead and the Villa Park faithful cheering.
While Watkins wants to maintain his form to help his club cement a UEFA Champions League next season, and while fifth position in the league may still be enough to do so due to the extended format of the next edition of Europe’s premier competition, this isn’t guaranteed. Along with ensuring Aston Villa’s participation, Watkins also has his personal ambition of national selection as added motivation.
Much will depend on who manager Southgate decides will provide the best backup to his England skipper, Harry Kane, for the Euros in Germany. While Watkins presently has the inside track on his fellow England attacking prospects, he is the first to admit that he performs a different role to the in-form Bayern Munich striker.
In a November 2023 interview with The Independent, shortly after scoring the only goal in England’s victory over Australia, Watkins explained the differences between himself and Kane:
“I think I’ve got a completely different playing style to Harry. He can drop deep and play some unbelievable long passes – that’s not my game. I can’t do that. My strengths are running in behind and stretching them, so I can only do what I can do. When I put on the shirt, I’ll try and do the best I can for my country, and then it is the manager’s decision.”
A potential benefit of having Watkins on the plane is due to this difference in playing style. Kane’s ability to drop deeper affords Southgate an additional option to use both proven goalscorers on the field simultaneously if necessary. While Brentford’s Ivan Toney also provides this option, he is more of a target man, while Watkins can move more readily into gaps and exploit Kane’s passing from deep.
Much will depend on Southgate and what he deems the best formula for England’s attack. One thing is sure, though – in Ollie Watkins, he has an expert goalscorer in the form of his life.
