Ollie Watkins

Oliver George Arthur Watkins (born 30 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Aston Villa and the England national team. Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Watkins is a complete forward known for his finishing ability and work ethic.

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 the summer of 2024, he was awarded the honour of the Premier League Playmaker of the Season.

Early life and education
Oliver George Arthur Watkins was born on 30 December 1995 in Torbay Hospital in Torquay, Devon. He grew up in nearby Newton Abbot and attended South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton together with Matt Jay and Jamie Reid.

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

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. He rose through the youth ranks to sign a scholarship deal in 2012. In April 2014, he signed a two-year professional contract after scoring 30 goals for the Under-18 team in its 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance South West Conference-winning season.

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 he made his senior debut when he replaced Aaron Dawson after 77 minutes of the 2–0 victory. Watkins was frequently named as a substitute by Paul Tisdale during the first three months of the 2014–15 season, 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 campaign in December 2014.

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

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, Watkins broke onto the substitutes' bench in October 2015 and made his first appearance of the season late in the month. 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.

During March 2016, Watkins had broken into the starting line-up. 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. His goalscoring run extended into mid-April and finished with 8 goals in 10 appearances. 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. Watkins finished the 2015–16 season with 10 goals in 22 appearances.

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. He had an eventful season, making 52 appearances, scoring 16 goals, and contributing 13 assists, though the campaign ended with Exeter losing 2–1 to Blackpool in the 2017 League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. 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. On 9 April, he was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Year award for his performances during the season.

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, reported to be £1.8 million. 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.

On 9 August 2019, Watkins signed a new four-year contract with a one-year extension option. He scored his first hat-trick for the club in the Championship against Barnsley in a 3–1 win on 29 September. 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.

2020–2023


On 9 September 2020, Watkins joined Premier League club Aston Villa on a five-year contract, for a then club-record fee of £28 million, which could rise to £33 million. 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. In joining Aston Villa, Watkins was reunited with manager Dean Smith, who had signed him for Brentford. On 15 September, Watkins made his Aston Villa debut, scoring in a 3–1 away win in the EFL Cup against Burton Albion. He went on to make his Premier League debut on 21 September, in a 1–0 home win against Sheffield United.

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. 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. 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. With 14 goals, he became Aston Villa's top scorer of the 2020–21 season.

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.

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. 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. On 6 October, Watkins signed a new contract with Aston Villa, committing his future to the club until 2028. 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. On 14 May 2024, at Aston Villa's 2023–24, Watkins was voted Supporters' and Players' Player of the Season.

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. Watkins was also named in the Premier League Fan Team of the Season.

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. 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.

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

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.

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

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

Style of play
Watkins has been described as one of the best strikers in Europe   and the world.

Watkins has described himself as "a number 10", 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". He is also adept as a winger. He was adapted into a more traditional centre-forward at Brentford during the 2019–20 season. Under Unai Emery at Aston Villa, Watkins began to play as a number 9, not only scoring but setting up goals for teammates. He has been described as a complete forward and received praise for his attacking runs, speed, work ethic, finishing and versatility.

International

 * England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Watkins goal

Honours
England
 * UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2024

Individual
 * PFA Fans' Player of the Month: March 2016
 * Football League Young Player of the Month: March 2016
 * EFL League Two Player of the Month: January 2017
 * EFL Young Player of the Year: April 2017
 * EFL Championship Player of the Year: 2019–20
 * PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20 Championship
 * Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * Aston Villa Players' Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * Premier League Playmaker of the Season: 2023–24
 * Premier League Fan Team of the Season: 2023–24