Ollie Watkins

Last updated

Ollie Watkins
Manchester United v Aston Villa, 25 September 2021 (17) (cropped).jpg
Watkins playing for Aston Villa in 2021
Personal information
Full name Oliver George Arthur Watkins
Date of birth (1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 (age 28) [1]
Place of birth Torquay, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Aston Villa
Number 11
Youth career
2002–2003 Buckland Athletic
2003–2004 Newton Town
2004–2014 Exeter City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2017 Exeter City 68 (21)
2014–2015Weston-super-Mare (loan) 24 (10)
2017–2020 Brentford 132 (45)
2020– Aston Villa 157 (64)
International career
2021– England 18 (5)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2024 Germany Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:12, 9 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:41, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Oliver George Arthur Watkins (born 30 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Aston Villa and the England national team. Regarded as one of the best centre-forwards in the world, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Watkins has been described as a complete forward, and is known for his finishing ability and work ethic. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Contents

Watkins is a product of the Exeter City academy and made his breakthrough at the club, winning the EFL Young Player of the Year award, before departing in 2017 for Brentford. He had a successful three-year spell at the club, culminating in being the joint top-scorer in the 2019–20 Championship and being named Championship Player of the Year in 2020. During September 2020, Watkins signed for his present club, Aston Villa. In May 2024, he was named Premier League Playmaker of the Season for the 2023–24 season.

Watkins made his debut for the England national team in 2021, scoring on his debut. He represented England at UEFA Euro 2024.

Early life and education

Oliver George Arthur Watkins [14] was born on 30 December 1995 [15] in Torbay Hospital in Torquay, Devon. [16] He grew up in nearby Newton Abbot and attended South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton together with Matt Jay [17] and Jamie Reid. [18] Watkins is of Jamaican descent. [19] He was raised by his mother Delsi-May, who is a professional singer. [20] [21]

Watkins began playing grassroots football with the academy of Buckland Athletic at six years of age. [22] Thereafter, Watkins joined neighbouring Newton Town F.C. for one season and he also represented the Devon County Football Association alongside Sam Gallagher. [23] Watkins is a Arsenal supporter. [24]

Club career

Exeter City

Early career

Watkins joined Exeter City's academy at Under-11 level, having previously failed a trial with the club at the age of nine in 2003. [25] He rose through the youth ranks to sign a scholarship deal in 2012. In April 2014, he signed a two-year professional contract [25] [26] after scoring 30 goals for the Under-18 team in its 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance South West Conference-winning season. [27]

Watkins won his maiden first-team call up when he was named as a substitute for the final League Two match of the 2013–14 season versus Hartlepool United and made his senior debut when he replaced Aaron Dawson after 77 minutes of the 2–0 victory. [28] Watkins was frequently named as a substitute by Paul Tisdale during the first three months of the 2014–15 season, [29] but despite scoring his first senior goal (a late consolation in a 3–1 Football League Trophy second round defeat to Coventry City on 7 October 2014), he made just three appearances before departing on loan to Weston-super-Mare for the remainder of the season in December 2014. [30] [31]

On 8 December 2014, Watkins joined Conference South club Weston-super-Mare on a one-month loan. [32] Through repeated extensions of the loan, [33] Watkins would remain with the club until the end of the 2014–15 season. [30] He featured regularly for the team, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances before returning to Exeter at the end of the season. [34]

2015–2017: First-team breakthrough

After failing to be named in a first-team squad during the opening two months of the 2015–16 season, [35] Watkins broke onto the substitutes' bench in October 2015 and made his first appearance of the season late in the month. [36] He made his first start for Exeter City in a 2–1 Devon derby victory over Plymouth Argyle on 6 December and scored his first goal of the season with the Grecians' second in a 2–0 FA Cup second round victory over Port Vale in the following match. [35]

During March 2016, Watkins had broken into the starting line-up. [35] That same month, he scored four goals in six appearances to win the Football League Young Player of the Month and PFA Fans' Player of the Month awards. [37] [38] His goalscoring run extended into mid-April and finished with 8 goals in 10 appearances. [36] Two of these goals came in the return Devon derby with Plymouth Argyle, in which his late brace sealed a 2–1 comeback victory and the second goal was subsequently voted as the club's Goal of the Season. [39] [40] Watkins finished the 2015–16 season with 10 goals in 22 appearances. [36]

Watkins' performances in the final two months of the 2015–16 season saw him enter 2016–17 as an established member of the first-team squad. [41] He had an eventful season, making 52 appearances, scoring 16 goals, and contributing 13 assists, [42] though the campaign ended with Exeter losing 2–1 to Blackpool in the 2017 League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. [43] Watkins scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 4–1 win over Newport County on 31 December 2016 and his two goals and five assists in January 2017 saw him win the League Two Player of the Month award. [43] [44] On 9 April, he was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Year award for his performances during the season. [45]

Brentford

On 18 July 2017, Watkins joined Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract, with an option for a further year, for an undisclosed fee, [42] reported to be £1.8 million. [46] He scored his first goal for Brentford on 8 August in their 3–1 extra-time victory away to AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup first round. [47]

On 9 August 2019, Watkins signed a new four-year contract with a one-year extension option. [48] He scored his first hat-trick for the club in the Championship against Barnsley in a 3–1 win on 29 September. [49] Watkins made 50 appearances and scored 26 goals in all competitions during the 2019–20 season, which ended with defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final. [50]

Aston Villa

2020–2023

Watkins playing for Aston Villa in 2021 Ollie Watkins 2021.jpg
Watkins playing for Aston Villa in 2021

On 9 September 2020, Watkins joined Premier League club Aston Villa on a five-year contract, [51] for a then club-record fee of £28 million, which could rise to £33 million. [52] Exeter City made £4 million and a further £750,000 in additional performance related add-ons from the transfer as they had inserted a sell-on clause when Watkins was sold to Brentford. [53] In joining Aston Villa, Watkins was reunited with manager Dean Smith, who had signed him for Brentford.[ citation needed ] On 15 September, Watkins made his Aston Villa debut, scoring in a 3–1 away win in the EFL Cup against Burton Albion. [54] He went on to make his Premier League debut on 21 September, in a 1–0 home win against Sheffield United. [55]

On 4 October 2020, Watkins scored his first Premier League goals, scoring through a left footed strike, a right footed strike and a header for a perfect hat-trick in a 7–2 home victory over champions Liverpool. [56] It was Liverpool's heaviest defeat in 57 years and was the first time in Premier League history that a reigning champion had conceded 7 goals in a single match. [57] On 10 April 2021, Watkins scored against Liverpool again, becoming the first player since Andrey Arshavin in the 2008–09 season to score as many as four goals against Liverpool in a single Premier League season. [58] With 14 goals, he became Aston Villa's top scorer of the 2020–21 season. [59]

On 25 February 2023, Watkins scored in his fifth consecutive Premier League match, a 2–0 win away to Everton, becoming the first Aston Villa player to achieve this feat. [60]

2023–present

On 23 August 2023, Watkins scored a hat-trick in Villa's 5–0 win against Hibernian in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round, which ensured the team's qualification for the group stage. [61] On 30 September, he scored his second hat-trick of the 2023–24 season and his third for Aston Villa in a 6–1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion. [62] On 6 October, Watkins signed a new contract with Aston Villa, committing his future to the club until 2028. [63] On 14 April 2024, he scored a goal in a 2–0 away win over Arsenal, in which he became the joint-top scorer for Aston Villa in a single Premier League season, 19 goals without penalty kicks, equalling Christian Benteke's record in 2012–13. [64] On 14 May 2024, at Aston Villa's 2023–24, Watkins was voted Supporters' and Players' Player of the Season. [65]

At the end of the season, Watkins won the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award for the most assists of the season, with 13. [66] Watkins was also named in the Premier League Fan Team of the Season. [67]

Watkins' first goals of the 2024–25 season season came in a 3–2 home win against Everton in the Premier League, with Watkins scoring twice in the second half to earn him the Player of the Match award. [68]

International career

On 18 March 2021, Watkins was named in Gareth Southgate's England squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against San Marino, Albania and Poland. [69] On 25 March 2021, Watkins made his England debut as a second-half substitute in a 5–0 victory over San Marino at Wembley. He subsequently scored his first England goal with his first shot on target in an England shirt. [70]

Watkins was named in the provisional England squad for UEFA Euro 2020 in May 2021. [71] However, he was not selected in the final 26-man squad for the tournament. [72]

Watkins made his first start for England on 29 March 2022 at Wembley in a friendly against the Ivory Coast, scoring the opening goal in the 30th minute of the 3–0 win. [73]

Watkins was not included in England's squad for any of their 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches or the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [74] He was recalled to the squad in October 2023 for the first time in 18 months [75] and, on 13 October, started in a friendly with Australia, scoring the only goal of the match. [76]

He was named in England's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. [77] In England's semi-final against the Netherlands, Watkins along with Cole Palmer came off the bench in the 81st minute, [78] with the latter assisting him to score the winning goal in the 90th minute, sending England to the final. [79]

Style of play

Watkins has been described as one of the best centre-forwards in Europe [80] [81] [82] [83] and the world. [3] [4] [5]

Watkins has described himself as "a number 10", [84] and in 2017 named Thierry Henry as his idol, saying "I try to base my game on his, by driving at defenders and looking to make something happen when I get the ball". [85] He is also adept as a winger. He was adapted into a more traditional centre-forward at Brentford during the 2019–20 season. [86] Under Unai Emery at Aston Villa, Watkins began to play as a number 9, not only scoring but setting up goals for teammates. [3] He has been described as a complete forward [10] and received praise for his attacking runs, [9] speed, [9] [87] [12] work ethic, [9] [11] [12] [13] finishing [8] [9] and versatility. [88] [11] [89]

Personal life

In 2020, Watkins and his partner announced the birth of their first child, a daughter. The couple had a son in 2022. [90]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup EFL Cup Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Exeter City 2013–14 [28] League Two 1000000010
2014–15 [31] League Two2000001 [a] 131
2015–16 [36] League Two208210000229
2016–17 [43] League Two451300205 [b] 35216
Total68212120647826
Weston-super-Mare (loan) 2014–15 [34] Conference South 24101 [c] 02510
Brentford 2017–18 [91] Championship 451010214811
2018–19 [92] Championship411032104512
2019–20 [93] Championship462500103 [d] 15026
Total1324542413114349
Aston Villa 2020–21 [94] Premier League 371400324016
2021–22 [95] Premier League351110003611
2022–23 [96] Premier League371510214016
2023–24 [97] Premier League3719301012 [e] 85327
2024–25 [98] Premier League11500004 [f] 0155
Total15764506316818475
Career total382140113124168105430160
  1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. Two appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, three appearances and two goals in League Two play-offs
  3. Appearance in FA Trophy
  4. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 14 November 2024 [99]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 202151
202221
202321
202492
Total185
As of match played 14 November 2024
England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Watkins goal [99]
List of international goals scored by Ollie Watkins
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
125 March 2021 Wembley Stadium, London, England1Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 5–05–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [100]
229 March 2022 Wembley Stadium, London, England7Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 1–03–0 Friendly [101]
313 October 2023 Wembley Stadium, London, England8Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1–01–0 Friendly [102]
410 July 2024 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany14Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2–12–1 UEFA Euro 2024 [103]
514 November 2024 Athens Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece18Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 1–03–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B [104]

Honours

England

Individual

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