At some point over the next four weeks, there is likely to be a moment when England need Ollie Watkins to do more than impersonate Dusan Vlahovic in training. As with any understudy, the trick is being prepared for any opportunity that comes his way.
There is no telling when Gareth Southgate will turn to Watkins. And unfortunately for the Aston Villa striker, he currently has one of the hardest jobs in football. Much like Vincent Janssen, Carlos Vinícius and Roberto Soldado in previous seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, there is not much that Watkins can do other than accept that being behind Harry Kane means spending a lot of time on the bench.
It is a fact of life that Kane starts when fit and does not tend to come off unless a game is in the bag. He played the full 90 minutes when England opened their Euro 2024 campaign by beating Serbia last Sunday and, barring injury, is guaranteed to lead the line against Denmark on Thursday.
Watkins, who is joined by Brentford’s Ivan Toney in providing backup for Kane, is waiting. It was interesting to hear him talk about England’s preparations for Serbia. Had he trained in a front two with Kane?
No – the focus was preparing England’s defenders for Serbia’s big centre-forwards. “We’ve done a lot of tactical stuff, but it’s normally me and Ivan pretending to be Serbia,” Watkins said after training on Tuesday. “Ivan makes a good [Aleksandar] Mitrovic and I was Vlahovic.”
Egos have to be set aside. Watkins was the main man for Villa last season, scoring 27 goals and laying on 13 assists in all competitions. The problem is that England’s captain and record goalscorer is in his way. “It’s new for me,” Watkins said. “I’m used to playing every game. I have done across the last four or five seasons. I don’t enjoy being on the bench, I’m not going to lie. But I know my qualities and I’ll be ready when I get the opportunity.”
Watkins pondered whether he could be a partner for Kane. Southgate should not rule it out. If England need a goal, he could move Kane into the No 10 position and use Watkins’ ability to stretch defences.
“I would like to play with H, because he drops deep,” Watkins 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 No 10 role.”
The prospect of Southgate turning to Watkins ahead of one of England’s many creative players sounded remote. Even so, the former Brentford forward is staying positive. “This is my first tournament,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s all a learning curve. You never know what can happen. I know I’ll get an opportunity. It’s just about taking it.”
That means offering more than the strikers who supported Kane at England’s first three tournaments under Southgate. Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck offered little as substitutes at the 2018 World Cup. When Rashford and Vardy started it was in the dead rubber against Belgium in the group stage. They were impact players but neither scored a goal across the tournament. The one major contribution? Rashford, thrown on in the 113th minute, scoring a penalty in the shootout win over Colombia in the last 16.
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Opportunities were sparse. Vardy came on with the scoring over during England’s 6-1 win over Panama. Rashford replaced Raheem Sterling shortly after Croatia’s equaliser in the 68th minute of the semi-final. Vardy was a last throw of the dice when Croatia were 2-1 up in extra time.
Southgate needs to extract more from his reserve forwards. Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were rarely seen at Euro 2020. Callum Wilson went with a smile to the 2022 World Cup and set up a goal for Jack Grealish after coming on against Iran in England’s opening game, but that was pretty much it for the Newcastle striker. Rashford, a scoring substitute against Iran, was held back until the 85th minute when France knocked England out.
Admittedly not every substitute striker is an Ole Gunnar Solskjær. But this is an area of concern for Southgate, who could be bolder and more inventive with his changes if England need inspiration in a knockout game. Watkins or Toney next to Kane could unnerve defenders.
But Watkins may only have 10 minutes to make his mark; 10 minutes to make himself England’s hero. “I just have to be ready when called upon,” he said. “That’s the mindset I’ve got. You’ve seen it in the Champions League – Joselu didn’t play much across the season but he came on and scored two very important goals [against Bayern Munich]. Real Madrid wouldn’t have won it without him.”
Just as England may not win the Euros without a contribution from Watkins.