Gary McAllister has revealed the reason he believes Ollie Watkins will be a ‘fantastic addition’ for England at this summer’s European Championships.
McAllister made 57 Scotland appearances in his career, so knows all about what it takes to compete at international level.
The former Liverpool midfielder has also worked closely with Aston Villa‘s England duo Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins in his time as Steven Gerrard’s assistant manager.
Both players – as well as Villa collectively – have elevated to new heights since Unai Emery took over from Gerrard in late 2022 and have earned their place in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the Euros in Germany this summer.
Now, McAllister has revealed why he feels Watkins will be more useful for England against the so-called ‘bigger’ teams in the tournament.
McAllister on when Ollie Watkins will thrive for England
Watkins is joined by Harry Kane and Ivan Toney in the striker department of the England Euros squad, with each centre-forward offering something different.
Whilst Kane will be the player Southgate trusts to lead the line, Watkins will be confident he can act as second in command and still have an impact in the tournament which kicks off on 14th June.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, McAllister has explained when Watkins could be at his most useful for England (p. 101, June 9), as he explained: “Ollie works better when he has space to run into rather than linking. Against the bigger nations, that’s when he will be a fantastic addition.
“When teams try to press you high, his eyes light up so he can spin centre-halves. You can see him making runs and someone like Trent Alexander-Arnold would be able to put it on a sixpence.”
The key difference between the Euros and the World Cup is that there are no easy group games, even for a nation with the talent that England possess.
Therefore, Watkins could be utilised more regularly than fans might expect given the difficult nature of the opposition.
Watkins could have role to play despite Harry Kane
Even with Watkins fresh off the back of a season in which he scored 27 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions, Harry Kane is the undisputed starting centre-forward for England.
The Bayern Munich attacker himself managed an incredible 44 goals and 12 assists in all competitions in his first season in Germany and is England’s all-time record goalscorer.
Toney was widely expected to be axed when it came to confirming the final squad, but Southgate has seen fit to include three central strikers in his squad.
This could owe to the fact that Kane missed the end of the season with a back injury and so England want to ensure they have options if the 30-year-old suffers any recurrence of the issue.
Whilst Toney is arguably the closest England have in terms of a striker who can replicate what Kane does in terms of build-up, Watkins offers something very different with his willingness to run in behind and will be full of confidence after the club season he has enjoyed.
The 28-year-old should also be starting to feel more comfortable in an England shirt too, with 12 caps to his name and three goals, although he is yet to really replicate his club form for the Three Lions.
Watkins will be delighted to be selected for his first major tournament, but he will not be content to simply make up the numbers and will hope to have a meaningful impact this summer.
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