Former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has been talking about what he believes Ollie Watkins has done in order to take his game to the ‘next level’.
Dean Smith knows Ollie Watkins very well, having first signed him for Brentford before again setting up a reunion at Aston Villa.
Watkins has always been a decent centre-forward but has enjoyed a meteoric rise since the arrival of Unai Emery as Villa manager in late 2022.
This has culminated in international recognition and Watkins was the toast of the nation as his 90th-minute strike against Netherlands on Wednesday night took England to the Euro 2024 final.
- READ MORE: The astonishing record Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins broke to send England to Euro 2024 final
The journey that Watkins has been on is no fluke, though, and Smith has revealed what he believes has elevated Watkins’ game.
Ollie Watkins now much more ‘selfish’ according to Dean Smith
Last season, Watkins had the best campaign of his career as he scored 27 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions.
Amazingly, despite this, the 28-year-old has played just 29 minutes at this summer’s Euros, even with Harry Kane struggling to make an impact.
Crucially, though, Watkins made his mark when it counted with his last gasp finish into the far corner to put England 2-1 up against the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday night.
This goal may not have happened a couple of seasons ago where, with the angle against him, Watkins may have looked for a teammate, but the finish owes to a newfound selfishness that Smith thinks has taken his game up a level.
Smith told The Sun: “What he’s [Watkins has] done to take his game to the next level is become a much more selfish player, which is good.
“Ollie had a tendency to worry about other people too much. He was so concerned with making the right runs, he worried about making a mistake and letting his team-mates down.
“Now he is concentrating solely on himself and you need that selfish streak to be a top striker and perhaps a top goalscorer.”
Will Watkins feature for England in Euro 2024 final v Spain?
Unfortunately for Watkins, it is incredibly unlikely that anyone other than Kane will be the centre-forward to start in the final against Spain.
However, with his heroics on Wednesday night, perhaps Watkins has now overtaken Ivan Toney in the pecking order to be the first forward off the bench.
Both Watkins and Toney offer very different attributes, though, so it may be a case of what Gareth Southgate feels is needed at the time rather than one being the outright second choice striker.
With tired legs late in the game, no defender is going to want to face an in-form Watkins who will run in behind at will and has now also shown a ruthless streak in front of goal in an England shirt.
If it is a space on the bench as expected, Watkins will maintain hope he can still have a telling say on the outcome of the final.
