Ollie Watkins scored two goals in Aston Villa's 4-2 win over Liverpool, a victory that secured Villa a place in next season's Champions League and underlined a dramatic turnaround in the forward's form.
Watkins' brace on the latest matchday was the latest chapter in a short, sharp revival. He has 14 Premier League goals this season, six of them coming since he was left out of the March international camp, and 10 goals across all competitions since the last international break — more than any Premier League player in that period.
John McGinn, Watkins' teammate, offered the blunt assessment that has followed the striker through the season: "I wish he was Scottish!" He added, "He was obviously disappointed in March but if it gave him a kick up the backside [then] he's certainly responded in the best way." McGinn later praised Watkins' contribution to Villa and suggested the striker had forced his way back into national-team reckoning: "We're so fortunate to have him, what he's done for this club the past few seasons has been incredible. I think he may have just snuck his way on to that plane."
The numbers make McGinn's point hard to contest. Watkins' 10 goals since the last international break outstrip every other Premier League player's return in the same span; Manchester City's Erling Haaland is second with seven. Among English players, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White has the next-best total with five. For comparison, Harry Kane has scored eight goals across all competitions in the same period.
Watkins himself has been candid about the arc of his season. "I had a slow start to the season, picking up a few niggles on international duty and then being left out of the England squad," he said. He said that omission lit a competitive spark: "I think it gave me that fire in my belly to come back and prove to people what I can do. A lot of people had written me off this season and I use that as motivation to show them that I can be back to my best - scoring and helping the team."
The omission in March — two months ago, by the timeline of events — was a turning point. One month before the tournament in North America, Watkins had rediscovered his stride, and the Liverpool performance was the clearest evidence yet that the recovery is complete. Villa's win not only locks in Champions League football for the club but also hands Watkins form and momentum at a moment when England's selection questions sharpen.
That is where the tension sits. Two months ago he was out of form and overlooked by the national setup; now he is pressing a claim for international inclusion. The realistic spot up for grabs in the senior England squad is the first-choice backup to captain Harry Kane. Watkins' recent spike in goals — and the timing of it as tournament squads are finalised — creates a contrast between the March decision to leave him out and the current imperative to fit form players into the squad.
There is a further wrinkle in the tidy narrative of comeback: Villa still have a match to play that could reshape plans. On Wednesday, Villa travel to Istanbul to face Freiburg in the Europa League final. Watkins' fitness and form over the next week will be watched closely. His continued scoring, or any setback in Istanbul, could tilt how managers weigh his case for a tournament spot and a specific role behind Kane.
Watkins has answered his critics with numbers and big-game moments. From being written off after a slow start and a March omission to scoring two goals that sealed a 4-2 win over Liverpool, he has made a clear case that he cannot be ignored. Given his 10-goal purple patch since the last international break and the comparative returns from other leading names, Watkins has done enough to emerge as the leading candidate to be England's first-choice back-up to Harry Kane.
