Aston Villa enter final talks to seal Inter move for Liverpool star Curtis Jones
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins knows his time at the World Cup could be close despite playing zero minutes in England’s opener against Croatia.
Watkins wrote himself into English football history two years ago when he came off the bench to score a last minute winner against the Netherlands and send his country to the Euro 2024 final.
He is back in his familiar place in North America – on the bench behind Harry Kane in a ‘complementary’ role.
“I feel like I understand the competition now, I understand that everyone has their time, everyone has their role to play and, when I see other players having their time, I am very happy for them,” he said.
“I’ve faced mine at a good time, obviously in the semi-final, but until then, before everyone has a role to play from time to time and I know it’s the same in this tournament.
“I feel like there is no pressure to come in at the end of the day.
“I think what is expected of me is that people don’t see me play, obviously they see Harry play, but I know what I can bring to the table.
“I watch the game when I’m on the bench, I see the game opening up.
“It is a completely different game when you start a football match than when you finish it, I have seen that as a substitute player there are many opportunities when you come.
You scored a goal
out of 20
“A lot of people are tired, they lose their minds and sometimes it’s better to be a substitute than to start the game.
“I have talked about it many times before, I said I will score a goal that day as well.
“It’s a great feeling to come and change the game and I hope to do that again in this tournament.”
Watkins’ place in the competition looked in jeopardy when he was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad in March, but a brilliant run of form at the end of the season, in which he fired Aston Villa to Europa League glory and a top-four finish in the Premier League, saw him take flight.
The Villans secured a place in the Champions League twice thanks to a top-five finish in the Premier League and winning the Europa League, and NSWE will invest heavily this summer to ensure Watkins and Co have the depth needed to make a run in all four competitions.
Aston Villa are entering talks for a Premier League midfielder
It looks like Villa’s business could start in midfield, with both Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana struggling with injuries at times and Morgan Rogers also set to leave the club this summer.
Indeed, according to sources shared by Caught Offside, the Midlands outfit have entered into recent talks with Liverpool to sign midfielder Curtis Jones.
Jones has been the subject of a number of bids from Serie A giants Inter Milan, who are keen to sign the Premier League winner but could now have his English football fortunes blown away at the last minute.
Their new Grealish: Aston Villa officially join race to sign £43m winger
Aston Villa are reportedly keen on a deal to sign the star who could be their next version of Jack Grealish.
Indeed, Inter’s final bid is understood to be less than £22m, while Liverpool expect somewhere in the region of £35-40m if they sell the England international this summer.
Jones, 25, won two league titles and three domestic cups during his time at Anfield, but fell out of favor under Arne Slot last season and is expected to move on despite the arrival of Andoni Iraola.
