(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Fri 8 May 2026 15:30, UK

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Ollie Watkins has surely done enough to book his seat on the plane for the World Cup after some stunning displays for Aston Villa of late.

The frontman was left out of the England squad for the March internationals, but he has since responded with a strong run of form for the Villans.

The 30-year-old has been in fine form for Unai Emery’s men of late, and he starred for them in their 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night.

Watkins set Villa on their way with a close-range finish in the 36th minute, but that was far from the full extent of his positive work throughout the 90 minutes.

Watkins also set up John McGinn for Villa’s third goal on Thursday night, and Thomas Tuchel has surely seen everything that he needed to from the striker after his latest display.

Ollie Watkins has surely won England striker debate

Watkins has been part of a debate in recent months as to who will serve as the understudy to Harry Kane for England at this summer’s World Cup.

The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Solanke and Danny Welbeck have been thrown into discussions in recent months, but Watkins has proved of late that he is still the obvious option.

His absence from the England squad for the March friendlies served as a challenge from Tuchel to up his game, and that is exactly what he has done since then.

That culminated in a truly fantastic performance from the frontman against Forest, as he ran the usually composed Nikola Milenkovic ragged all night long.

Watkins constantly tested the Forest backline with threatening runs in behind, but he also showcased his clever hold-up play, something that he isn’t normally renowned for.

He completely outsmarted his opponents and dominated his markers throughout the contest.

With that in mind, Tuchel has surely now seen enough from him to know that he simply has to be on the plane this summer.

Watkins offers a different option to Kane in terms of his pace and threat running the channels, but he is also more than capable playing with his back to goal.

Watkins’ Aston Villa future now in no doubt

Football Insider revealed at the end of February that Aston Villa may sell Watkins this summer, after he has largely underperformed throughout the campaign.

However, the former Brentford man has always thrived when he feels he has a point to prove, and the turnaround in his game in recent months has surely secured his future at Villa Park.

He was a driving force behind their ability to flip their semi-final tie on its head on Thursday night, and he is so often the man who produces the big moments for his team.

Emery is still turning to him to lead the line for the most important games, and that is testament to the threat that he carries.

Tuchel has clearly had his doubts over Watkins in recent months, but they must surely have evaporated after his latest exploits.