Ollie Watkins feels omission from March England camp was ‘blessing in disguise’
By Jonathan Veal, Press Association
Ollie Watkins believes his omission from England’s March camp was a “blessing in disguise”.
The Aston Villa striker’s hopes of going to the World Cup looked to be in tatters when he did not make Thomas Tuchel’s squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
But he responded in style, with a brilliant run of 11 goals in 12 games helping Villa to Europa League glory and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
He said: “To be fair, before the March camp, I had started to pick up my form. I scored an important goal and had some big performances against Lille in the round of 16.
“So my form was starting to pick up, I think it was a blessing in disguise. Sometimes, when something gets taken away from you, you realise how important it is, and it gives you that fire in your belly to come back and show people what you can do.
“The manager always had faith in me. So, it is nice I could repay him with the performances and goals and to show I deserved to be here.
“I felt in the big moments, when the team needed me, I stepped up and came up with some big goals and some big performances.”
It was the perfect end to the season for the 30-year-old, who hopes Villa’s Europa League success can provide the platform for more glory this summer.
“It’s been a long time since the club had brought back a trophy, and we did that,” he said. “You know, 44 years, fans have been waiting for that a long time, and obviously we succeeded, and it’s an amazing feeling to do that.
“To come into the England camp off the back of a strong end of the season, and winning a trophy, there’s nothing better.
“I think everything that I had pictured, really, and imagined is coming to play.
“Physically I’m the best I’ve ever been, and obviously my form as well in front of goal is really good at the moment, so I’m feeling really strong.
“Everyone’s got a part to play in this competition, whether it’s early stages, later stages, we just have to be ready, and we’re all working together as a team to achieve something special.”
Watkins will be in competition with Ivan Toney in his role as an alternative to Harry Kane, with both men having an impact off the bench at Euro 2024.
“I think it’s good, me and Ivan are different players, and you need that, you need to have versatility,” Watkins said. “At the end of the day, Ivan’s a proven goalscorer, he’s shown it throughout all his career.
“Even in the last Euros, there were times where he came on when the team needed him, and then I had my moment, obviously, in the semi-final as well.
“I think it’s amazing that we’ve got Ive here as he’s a clinical goalscorer.”
