Ollie Watkins must channel his disappointment of being left out of the England squad ahead of Thomas Tuchel's big World Cup selection call
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins(Image: PA)
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Ollie Watkins must channel his disappointment at being omitted from the England squad, with Unai Emery hoping it could serve as a catalyst for a strong end to his season with Aston Villa.
The 30-year-old striker might not get another chance to play at a World Cup, but his recent form has put his international place under real pressure, with just two goals in his last 15 matches.
Watkins will be well aware that three other strikers were selected ahead of him for the March internationals - with Harry Kane an automatic choice. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s inclusion is understandable, but Dominic Solanke’s call-up came as more of a surprise.
That adds fresh competition for Watkins, and Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel explained his decision to leave the Villa forward out of the squad.
“With Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dom Solanke, we have two similar profiles this time in camp. Why? The reason is pretty simple. I want to get to know the two better,” he explained.
“I see what they can do but I want to see them in training, want to feel them and want to see how they can impress in the first part of the camp.
“Ollie Watkins is not with us but this is more down to the fact that I know what Ollie Watkins can bring to the group – I know him very well. We will provide the level of training and the level of care so that they can be the best version of themselves.”
Arguably the highlight of his career so far came while wearing the Three Lions on his chest, as Watkins scored a late winner against the Netherlands in Dortmund to send England into the Euro 2024 final.
It’s a moment that should put him in a strong position to be recalled for the World Cup, yet what happens in the coming weeks will ultimately influence Tuchel’s decision.
A place at the World Cup is still very much in Watkins’ own hands, which could work to Villa’s advantage - their main striker knows he simply has to score goals and perform consistently to secure that spot.
“Keep going collectively and individually,” Emery said when asked about Watkins being left out of the national team squad.
“Everything that comes like this issue, he must be strong and his mentality is as a fighter. Keep going to try to get own way, with us his numbers and getting progressively better like yesterday, and also back to his national team.”
It has been a testing campaign for Watkins, who has scored in only seven of the 42 matches he has featured in for Villa.
He entered the season on the back of an excellent pre-season, scoring freely and looking raring to go, but he didn’t find the net until the eighth game of the campaign, the 3–1 win over Fulham.
After 11 more appearances without his second goal of the season, Watkins struck twice at Brighton to draw the game level before the break on the south coast. Prior to that trip, Emery had revealed that Watkins had been dealing with knee pain for over a year.
Watkins also missed selection for the November internationals, with Tuchel confirming at the time that he had been managing some discomfort.
"We could observe it when we watched Ollie closely that he is playing through discomfort at the moment," Tuchel said. "It simply didn't make too much sense to bring him into camp in this condition.
"We then opted for the option to give him this break to get treatment and to be back in full physical capacity and in best shape, and then fight for the place again in March."
Four goals in three matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest propelled Watkins into the ranks of the league’s top-scoring strikers. However, he has managed just one more league goal since Villa’s 3–1 win over the Reds at Villa Park at the start of January.
The big question, of course, is: why has Watkins struggled this season?
Watkins recorded 56 goal involvements across the previous two seasons but has just 11 this campaign, with nine goals and two assists.
Although his goal tally is down, another concern is that Watkins has registered only one assist in the league this season, which may help explain his reduced overall output.
Villa need to involve Watkins more. His intelligent runs into channels and across defenders often go unnoticed - a problem that has been exacerbated by the recent absence of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans.
Villa were also without Tielemans for a six-game spell earlier this season after he suffered a calf injury in the 0–0 draw at Everton in September.
Now, with both McGinn and Tielemans back in the team and recovered from injury, Watkins should have more opportunities to boost his numbers.
Despite missing the last two months of action, Tielemans still ranks second in Villa’s squad for assists (four), big chances created (four), and chances created (26) in the Premier League this season.
Watkins, of course, shoulders most of the blame for his own form, and will admit that his level of performance hasn’t been good enough. In the league this season, Watkins has missed 13 big chances.
It’s an intriguing stat, however, considering that Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago - who have scored 41 goals combined - are the players who have each missed the most big chances.
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