New dad Ollie Watkins planning special celebration if he scores for England
Aston Villa striker has been recalled for the World Cup qualifiers with Andorra and Hungary
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Your support makes all the difference.Ollie Watkins will be hoping to toast the birth of his daughter with a special celebration if he scores for England this month.
The Aston Villa forward became a father for the first time just three weeks ago before earning a Three Lions recall.
Watkins was included in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for Euro 2020 but did not make the cut and missed out on the September internationals with a knee injury.
But he was called up for the upcoming World Cup qualification double-header away to Andorra and at home to Hungary
The 25-year-old only scored his first goal of the season in Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham but retains the support of Southgate.
His strike at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came after the arrival of his daughter but was not marked with the de-facto goal celebration for new dads.
Obviously it (being a dad) is something new but it gives me a different outlook on life.
“I scored against Spurs and I think everyone was expecting me to pull out the old baby celebration but I need to think about it more and the next goal I score I will do something,” he told talkSPORT.
“Obviously it (being a dad) is something new but it gives me a different outlook on life.
“I don’t feel like I’m a selfish person but at times you’re just thinking about yourself a lot before but now I just put her first and it’s nice that my life’s not just about me now, it’s about someone else.”
Watkins scored on his senior England debut, coming off the bench to strike in the 5-0 win over San Marino in March.
The former Exeter and Brentford forward is one of several options Southgate can call upon at the top end of the pitch – but Watkins admits Harry Kane remains the first-choice England striker for the time being.
“This is only my third camp,” he added.
“I’m not thinking about being the main number nine. I think at the end of the day, everyone knows Harry – he is the England captain, he’s going to play every game if he’s fit.
“So it’s about me taking my opportunity when I get the chance and I do the best for the team and show the manager what I can do.
“I’m very grateful to be picked. It’s always nice to be noticed for the hard work you put in and even though I haven’t been scoring recently I feel like I’ve had a few good performances so it’s nice that the manager has seen that and shown faith in me, so I’m delighted to be here.”