Ollie Watkins’ journey to the top has been a circuitous one – from playing in the National League with Weston-super-Mare to scoring the winner in a European Championship semi-final almost a decade later, then competing in the Champions League with Aston Villa.
This season has been a mixed one for Watkins.
A tally of nine goals and just one assist from 30 Premier League appearances is below his usual rate, but having scored against West Ham before the international break, he then hit two against Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday.
That took him to 99 goals for Villa and prompted renewed talk of a late run into Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.
He talks to Kelly Somers about Villa, his international ambitions, and how talking to former England striker Michael Owen has helped him through what he describes as a “difficult” season.
