Thomas Frank has shared that he is still in contact with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, after the duo worked together at Brentford, as he told his press conference.
The 49-year-old added that he wishes, both Watkins and Ivan Toney, can secure England spots for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar next month.
Toney was part of the latest Three Lions squad, but didn’t earn any minutes under Gareth Southgate, although, he is one of the favourites to earn that golden ticket behind Harry Kane.
The same can’t be said for Watkins, who after being part of previous squads, has only scored one Premier League goal from 11 league matches this term.
Nonetheless, it has been some rise for Watkins over the years, including his stint at Brentford where Frank was a coach under Dean Smith, before he took over from first-team duties.
Ahead of Brentford’s visit to managerless Villa Park on Sunday, one of the names linked to the hot seat, was asked about Watkins as a player.
“If I could choose, then I would like both of them to be in the England squad,” said Frank. “I want the best for both of them.
“I think, with any player, confidence is important (on Watkins’ form this season), especially for the offensive players that you believe that the ball will arrive when you are in the moment where you need to score. You know you just need to connect through the ball or you are calm, then take a good decision.
“When things aren’t going right, then it’s difficult to produce good numbers. Things aren’t going the right way, so it’s difficult for Ollie to be at his highest performance levels. I think he did very well in his first season in the Premier League – he scored a good amount of goals. I am convinced he will come back to play well and score goals, but hopefully, not on Sunday.
On whether he still talks to Watkins: “We text once in a while, yes.”
COULD THOMAS FRANK WORK WITH WATKINS AT VILLA?
Villa are looking for a replacement for Steven Gerrard after his quite ruthless sacking on Thursday when they were demolished and humiliated 3-0 by Fulham.
Frank’s name has popped up on the radar, and given his rise since he took over from Dean Smith at Griffin Park, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he is being spoken about in such glowing terms.
Ironically enough, it was Dean Smith becoming Villa manager when they were in the Championship that opened that door for Frank and he hasn’t looked back since.
He has worked with Watkins before, so he knows his game inside out if the opportunity arises of him becoming the club’s next manager.
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