Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins wants to one day replace Harry Kane as England’s main man in attack.
Watkins is set to come up against his England teammate as Villa take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old came on for Kane several times during Euro 2024 in the summer and fired the Three Lions into the final with a last-minute winner against the Netherlands.
Watkins said the pair are good friends, but wants to be the one who gets the shirt for his national side.
“Everyone is fighting for a position on the pitch so I want to be the man to play but day in day out we have a good relationship,” he said.
“We talk and when I’m in the camp I speak to him so there’s no animosity and I’m doing all I can to be on the pitch and so is he.”
Watkins is ready to fulfil his childhood dream by scoring on Wednesday in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final.
It is their marquee fixture of the new league phase of the competition and reward for Villa’s remarkable turnaround under boss Unai Emery, where they went from the Premier League relegation zone to the top four in 18 months.
Watkins’ performances were the driving force of that ascent and the former Brentford man has shown he belongs at the top level – only Kane and Cole Palmer have scored more goals than him as an Englishman since the start of last season.
The Torquay-born striker, who was playing at Exeter seven years ago, is loving his meteoritic rise and is determined to enjoy the moment.
“It’s really exciting for me, for my journey and the club,” he said. “It’s a long time since (there were) Champions League nights at Villa Park.
“These are the nights we all dreamt of especially since I came here. Playing Champions League football for Villa is the best it can get really.
“I think we’ve all got to go out there and enjoy it. Not make the most of it, because that sounds like we’re underestimating ourselves, but just enjoy it because it’s so long since the club has been involved in a competition like this.
💫 Ollie on tomorrow night: "It's been a long time since Champions League nights at Villa Park — everyone is excited and looking forward to it. Playing Champions League football for Villa is the best it can get really." pic.twitter.com/4p636wMsR1
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 1, 2024
“For me personally I haven’t experienced Champions League football before so I want to enjoy it because this is what I dreamt of as a kid.”
Villa were facing a return to the Championship before Emery’s arrival in the autumn of 2022 but the ex Arsenal manager led a rapid rise that left Watkins pinching himself.
“He has completely turned us around as players and the club,” he said. “Full credit to him and us as players, obviously.
“It’s not a pinch me moment tomorrow. But more one where we look back at how quickly everything has turned around.
“Since he set foot in the door it has been so positive. We have won more than we have lost and we are only getting better and improving.
“It is such a lovely place to be, this club, especially as a player, but also for the fans and for people outside this club to see the stature of it, improving and getting better, every day and each week.”
