Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has become the subject of harsh criticism following his performance for England against Brazil, with doubts over his suitability to the squad far from fair.
Ollie Watkins has suffered a difficult week on international duty, with his performance against Brazil highly scrutinised by the media.
The England international was selected to start against the Selecao in the absence of Harry Kane however, the 28-year-old was unable to show his worth to Gareth Southgate.
There has been a lot of question over the Aston Villa talisman’s chances of going to the summer’s Euros, with Ivan Toney also in the running to travel as Southgate’s number two to Kane.
Ollie Watkins has been criticised for his display for England v Brazil
There have been countless opinions provided following Watkins’ struggles against Brazil, with the national media having a lot to say about the striker’s display at Wembley.
Most recently, former Arsenal forward Perry Groves took to talkSPORT to express his dissatisfaction over the Villa ace’s performance.
“Unfortunately for Watkins, England didn’t play well and the passing wasn’t great.”
“Watkins likes to run channels, he plays in a high line system for Villa and he gets more chances and gets himself in the box more. I think he’s played himself out of being the go-to if you haven’t got Harry Kane.”
“He didn’t play well against North Macedonia, he didn’t set the world alight yesterday.”
Criticism of Ollie Watkins is incredibly harsh
Groves is entitled to have an opinion on Watkins’ display however, the Englishman was far from given the chance to show his best against Brazil.
The 28-year-old recorded only 24 touches on the ball on a night where England were far from imposing in attack at Wembley.
Watkins was ‘feeding off scraps’, as detailed by Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football podcast, making it difficult for the Villa ace to show his worth, hence why he is facing so much scrutiny over missing his first-half chance.
To base Watkins’ chances of going to the Euros on the display against Brazil is incredibly harsh, considering the countless times the striker has proved himself in the Premier League this season.
Groves accused the £130k-a-week Villa gem of playing ‘himself out of’ contention to be Kane’s number two in the summer, which couldn’t be more untrue.
No English player has outscored Watkins in the Premier League this season, with no English player recording more assists in the league than the 28-year-old either.
Considering the other players that are in talk to go to the Euros, who have done far less domestically to prove themselves, it’s perplexing to see the criticism that the Villa Park superstar is receiving.
The margins are astoundingly narrow, if Watkins had scored against Brazil, talk would be quiet, with his mediocre display in a mediocre team performance igniting a negative fuse in the media.
All the 28-year-old can do is continue to impress at domestic level, where he has recorded 26 goal contributions in 29 appearances this term, numbers that haven’t been reached by anyone else in the top flight.
