Ollie Watkins
ST
England30 years
Showing2025/26 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
ST
StrikerMain
6,691 min · 102 apps · 76 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Al-Hilal Saudi FC · independent of the season filter
Unrated
Involvement—
Performance—
A current score needs sufficient playing evidence and a confirmed club record.
Awaiting a current calculation.
Profile
Career & playing style
Ollie Watkins is an English centre-forward who repeatedly attacks the space behind defenders. His runs offer a target for through balls, but they also draw attention away from teammates receiving between midfield and defence. That work makes him useful even when the pass goes elsewhere.
Born in Torquay on 30 December 1995, he came through Exeter City’s academy and spent time on loan at sixth-tier Weston-super-Mare. He moved to Championship club Brentford in July 2017, then reached the Premier League when Aston Villa signed him in September 2020.
His role became more focused under Unai Emery at Villa. A converted winger, Watkins described learning to stay within the width of the penalty area and time his runs, instead of chasing as often into the corners. That change kept him closer to the places where chances arrived.
In the 2023/24 Premier League season, he scored 19 goals and supplied 13 assists. The assists earned him the league’s Playmaker of the Season award, while his contribution helped Villa finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.
His England debut in March 2021 brought a goal against San Marino. At EURO 2024, he came off the bench to score the added-time winner against the Netherlands in the semi-final: a run into space, protection of Cole Palmer’s pass, then a turn and a shot across the goalkeeper.
The same movement could serve a team attack without an immediate through ball. UEFA’s analysis of Villa’s 2026 Europa League goal against Bologna showed Watkins occupying central defenders and stretching the back line, creating room for combinations in front of them. He then attacked the area to finish Morgan Rogers’ cutback.
In May 2026 he started the Europa League final as Villa beat Freiburg 3–0. It was his first senior trophy, adding a team honour to the individual recognition he had earned in English league football.
He was also part of England’s squad that finished third at the 2026 World Cup, coming on during the 6–4 bronze-medal win over France. In August 2026 he joined Al-Hilal, bringing his six-year spell at Villa to a close.