Ollie Watkins has grafted for 10 years to be an overnight success with England.
Born in Torquay, away from the Premier League academies that were the launchpad for his England colleagues like Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo, Watkins began his career at the bottom with Exeter City. He got his first taste of first-team football when his then Grecian boss Paul Tisdale sent him on loan to non-league Weston-super-Mare.
They were fighting for survival in the sixth tier of English football, National League South, having lost their last eight games when the 18-year-old Watkins arrived in December 2014. Watkins scored within 14 minutes of his debut, coming on as a substitute against Farnborough Town in Weston’s 4-3 win in front of 130 spectators.
He scored 10 goals in his 25 appearances to help Weston avoid the drop and his then manager Ryan Northmore says he was key for them. Watkins bonded with his Weston team-mates and even went on their end-of-season trip to Marbella.
“It wasn’t that he was an outstanding player at that stage, it was a case that he had a great attitude and was grateful of the opportunity he was given,” said Northmore. “He’d only played youth football so we were charged with helping get him playing senior football.
“They were thrown in at the deep end. I brought Ollie on against Farnborough, he ended up scoring and it just gave everybody a huge lift, it brought momentum. That 40 minutes he was on the pitch was the turning point for us. We never looked back.
“We were cut adrift, but secured our safety with plenty of games to go and it was a monumental effort from everybody.”
Dean Smith, then Brentford boss, spotted Watkins at Weston and signed him for Brentford for £1.8million in 2017 after he had scored 28 goals in two seasons for League Two Exeter.
Watkins flourished in the Championship with Brentford after Tisdale set him up with a week’s work experience with Ted Baker in the summer of 2017 because he knew founder Ray Kelvin. Watkins loved his week at their London HQ and was even asked by Kelvin to give his views on outfits modelled on the catwalk.
He netted 50 times in his three seasons with Brentford, culminating in the Championship play-off final loss to Fulham in 2020 before he was reunited with Smith at Villa for £28million. He scored 17 goals in his first season for Villa in the Premier League and scored on his England debut, after his first Three Lions call-up at any level, against San Marino in March 2021.
Watkins, 28, continued on his upwards trajectory, scoring 27 goals, including 19 in the Premier League as Villa finished fourth last season to qualify for the Champions League. Northmore, who is now coach of Saudi Arabian side Arar, claims his rise is a great example to young footballers that they are different routes to the top.
“I think it’s the perfect reminder of the value of non-league and our unique football pyramid at a time when many clubs are struggling to survive,” he said. “The notion that players’ futures are decided at 18, 19 or 20 is rubbish.
“Ollie’s story is inspirational for young players. He’s a great role model and has good virtues. Young players can learn from his attitude, his desire to maintain a course that he believes in.
“That’s the fundamental message in Ollie’s story, that it can inspire others.”
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