Yahoo News Ollie Watkins speaks out on media treatment as he reveals Harry Kane belief
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins claims he has been “underestimated” by the media.
The striker enjoyed a superb season for Villa, firing them to fourth place in the Premier League and next season’s Champions League as well as the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. In total, Watkins scored 19 league goals and eight in Europe.
Despite those figures, his place in England’s squad for Euro 2024 was still being questioned by some before Gareth Southgate named the Villa man alongside fellow strikers Harry Kane and Ivan Toney. And speaking from the Three Lions’ base in Blankenhain, Watkins said: “From my perspective, the media maybe underestimated me.
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“I had a really good year, got the most assists in the league, scored a lot of goals and people still wrest including me in their squads to come to the Euros. Everyone has their own opinion, but I don’t feel like I have that big profile where I’m talked about.
“Or where if I was left out of the squad, people would be like: ‘Oh, I can’t believe they didn’t pick Ollie Watkins’. I’m happy I’m here now.”
Having been an unused substitute in England’s opening group win over Serbia, Watkins is relishing any opportunity to represent his country at his first major tournament and believes he could form a lethal combination with Kane if they were to play together.
“I would like to play with H because he drops in deep, he can play the number 10 role and he picks up a lot passes,” he said. “I feel it would be similar to when he was at Tottenham and picking the balls up and playing it through to Son (Heung-min). But I know we’re blessed with a lot of talent in the number 10 role.”
