Clinton Morrison told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (27/03/21 at 2:10 pm) that he said it ‘a couple of years ago’ that Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins will play for England.
On Thursday, Villa’s thriving hitman produced an evening to remember as he scored on his England debut against San Marino.
Twelve months ago, Watkins was trying to help Brentford earn promotion to the Premier League and fast forward to today and he is training with some of the best at St George’s Park.
Former Birmingham City man, Morrison, shared that he has been saying it for some while now that Watkins was going to play for his country.
“We were on here maybe a couple of years ago and I said that he will play international football,” said Morrison.
“I knew for a fact. I said it a couple of years ago. I had seen him at Exeter. He’s such a humble guy. He works ever so hard at his game. He’s a nightmare for defenders to play against and he never stops running.
“You have to credit what they have done at Aston Villa with Dean Smith. The only disappointing thing is that his family weren’t there with him watching it (his England debut).
“But he has been superb and this is where he came of age. This hat-trick against Liverpool – it helps having a player like Grealish around. He’s non-stop and he deserved that international call.
“I called him a couple of days ago and I said ‘congratulations on the call-up and just go there and do what you have been doing at Aston Villa. Don’t change your game’.”
Now that Watkins is in the back of Gareth Southgate’s mind, he now has to get to the forefront and book his ticket for this summer’s delayed Euros.
Scoring on his Three Lions debut helps, but doing it against the big boys and when England need him most will add credit to his bank.
Whilst England’s next two opponents – Albania and Poland – aren’t exactly going to keep them awake at night, they are still a bigger threat and challenge than San Marino.
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