Ollie Watkins excited to work with Harry Kane after maiden English call-up


Ollie Watkins excited to work with Harry Kane after maiden English call-up

Ollie Watkins for Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins, the Aston Villa star forward has been handed a maiden call up to the English National team by coach Gareth Southgate. The 25 year-old striker has already scored 12 goals this season and will look to add to his tally if given the chance for England.

ADVERTISEMENT

The youngster however, has already sought advice from England captain and talisman Harry Kane on how to go about things in the international arena.

Ollie Watkins spoke about his journey to the England football team

“I spoke to him a couple of times. I just asked him how he trains, how he looks after himself, just to get some inside knowledge on how he works,” Watkins told a press conference. “He is someone I can definitely learn off on a day-to-day basis.”

It was around a fortnight ago, while preparing to face Newcastle in the Premier League, the striker first became aware he was in the thoughts of Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

ADVERTISEMENT

“There was a text message,” he explains. “It was sent by someone at the FA and said: ‘Just letting you know you could be in the England squad’. “There were a few of us that got it. I didn’t read too much into it as I knew there were a lot of good attacking players.”

Expectations were further dampened by Watkins having what he describes as ‘a bit of a stinker’ in Villa’s 1-1 draw against the Magpies.

“I didn’t really expect to get called up,” he admits. “Looking back it has been a bit of a journey, but it’s been a great journey. I’ve had some tough times on the way but also some good ones. It is a bit of a shock but enjoyable as well. It would be a dream to make my debut.”

Ollie Watkins really has to hit the ground running for England if he wants to put his name in contention for the Euro 2020s coming up in July. England have a variety of players to choose from in the attacking department and he needs to grab his chance with both hands.

ADVERTISEMENT

Also Read : Manchester City players can bring ‘winning mentality’ to England squad, says Stones