Former Aston Villa striker, Dion Dublin has opened up about Ollie Watkins following his performance for England against North Macedonia.
Ollie Watkins came into the England setup after a great start to the season for Aston Villa which has seen him accrue plenty of goal involvements.
In the past 12 months, Watkins has gone from strength to strength under Unai Emery who has helped develop his game.
With 15 Premier League goals last year, he has added to that with six goals and five assists in the league this campaign.
This has seen him become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England set-up as a backup option for captain, Harry Kane. In spite of that, he does still have three goals in nine appearances for the Three Lions.
What has Dion Dublin said about Ollie Watkins?
Dion Dublin is a cult hero at Villa Park for many reasons. The former England international joined the Villans from Coventry City back in 1998 and stayed for six years.
With 155 appearances and 48 goals, he was a success in his spell in B6 before he joined Leicester City on a free transfer.
The England game, shown on Channel 4, featured Dublin as a co-commentator and upon Watkins’ substitution, he discussed the forward’s performance.
On that, he said: “Yeah, he was kind of starved tonight, Ollie Watkins.
“It was a difficult game for him, he made some really good runs and wasn’t found, maybe with one he was found, but he was offside anyway.”
The Villa man only managed ten touches, such was the lack of service that found its way to him. This led to him being swapped midgame.
With Kane coming on and getting involved in a goal almost instantly, it was a slap in the face to the Villan.
Adding to that, Dublin said: “It will be a frustrating night for Ollie Watkins, but he’s got a lot left to show us. He’s a talented footballer.”
It is safe to say that the former striker rates the 27-year old but he just didn’t have a chance to shine for the Three Lions.
This won’t take a toll on Watkins such is his attitude towards his football. Looking at his spell under Steven Gerrard he didn’t react badly to being dropped out or pushed out wide at any point. Now he is one of the best strikers in the league, he knows how to work through it.
The sadness is, with Kane in front of him, he isn’t ever going to be THE man for England so these bit-part appearances are going to be it.
