Ollie Watkins was unexpectedly left out of England’s last squad, but his recent Aston Villa performance hasn’t hurt his chances, and following recent injury news, he might be in line for a call from Gareth Southgate. The 27-year-old scored three goals in a 6-1 victory against Brighton on Saturday while Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate sat in the stands at Villa Park, following up his winning goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. With Villa ending a 13-year gap from playing on the continent by participating in the UEFA Europa Conference League, Watkins is also looking forward to competing in Europe, which will undoubtedly give him pleasing exposure. And following Fabrizio Romano’s update on September 30, his impressive play and critical importance for Aston Villa and Unai Emery have justifiably meant that he is in line for a new contract at Villa Park. While Watkins will be assisting his team in making up for their Europa Conference League loss to Legia Warsaw on the opening day, Southgate is scheduled to announce his squad for the upcoming international matches against Australia and Italy in the afternoon, so Watkins will be hoping to leave Villa Park on Thursday as an England player. And given that one of his regulars appears to be ruled out, Southgate may find himself with no alternative but to resort to Watkins.
