Ollie Watkins could play bigger role than expected at World Cup thanks to Aston Villa numbers

Ollie Watkins knows his place in the England reckoning for the World Cup, but the Aston Villa star will certainly have a part to play.

The 30-year-old earned his place in Thomas Tuchel's travelling party thanks to a strong end to the 2025-26 club campaign.

Watkins was surprisingly overlooked for selection for the March friendlies, although in a way that proved a blessing in disguise.

On the back of a campaign that saw the striker score 21 times in the Europa League and Premier League combined, he is in superb form.

And while Watkins is clearly behind Harry Kane in Thomas Tuchel's favoured XI, the German looks set to give the Villa favourite a chance.

Thomas Tuchel shares Ollie Watkins plan

Kane is the best striker in world football right now - and perhaps even the best player full stop.

Watkins is unlucky in that regard, with Tuchel favouring Kane as a sole striker in his system.

However, we have seen Watkins used from the substitutes' bench at times to great effect - just look at the Netherlands game at the last Euros.

And not only will Tuchel consider playing Watkins in a slightly deeper role off Kane, he is already aware of what he brings from his showings at Villa.

“I think Ollie is more the guy maybe to start for Harry if we think Harry should not start a match,” Tuchel said at Friday's press conference.

“To keep the intensity up, to keep the press going. That is the strength of Ollie that he showed for us and Ivan is kind of a finisher for us.

"He is a finisher of matches maybe with a special task to take the attention of defenders off Harry and we can play with a second striker.

“He’s very, very good in the box, very good with set pieces, a good penalty taker, trains on a high level. I’m very happy with him.

“He has a brilliant attitude, good training sessions through the whole week, so we have some options and Harry is, of course, the main guy in front.”

The numbers very much stack up in that regard, with Watkins very much a team player.

But even his individual attacking stats make for pretty remarkable reading from a Villa and England perspective.

Watkins leads the way in numerous metrics

Watkins finished the club season in style as he finished with a goals per game ratio of 0.51.

That is not quite the 0.55 he managed with Brentford in 2019-20 and with Villa in 2024-25, but is is still some going.

There is more to Watkins' game than just scoring, hence why Tuchel is willing to start him deeper.

That is reflected in his 0.60 goals and assists combined per 90 minutes in the top flight last season.

Watkins is a player who will run himself into the ground, which again is something highlighted by Tuchel.

So while Kane is clearly going to get the nod to start matches in the United States, Watkins can be confident his chance will definitely come.