Simon Jordan wades in on Ollie Watkins debate as Aston Villa striker gets England snub

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was made to settle for a place on the bench for England on Thursday night despite the Three Lions being without Harry Kane

Pundit Simon Jordan wonders if Ollie Watkins will ever get his chance to fill the shoes of England captain Harry Kane after the Aston Villa talisman was left out of the starting XI, despite Kane's absence, in the 2-1 Nations League defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday evening.

Interim manager Lee Carsley opted to play Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon in attack while without injured skipper Kane, and that meant overlooking natural centre forward alternatives Watkins and Tottenham's Dominic Solanke. Watkins did eventually emerge in the second half, followed by Solanke, but England were underwhelming and deservedly beaten.

Watkins is, despite the increasing presence of Villa's super sub Jhon Duran, still the outright first choice striker for boss Unai Emery, but Jordan - the former Crystal Palace chairman - is doubtful of whether he'll ever be classed as being among the best strikers, despite his clear admiration for the player.

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"I like him," Jordan told talkSPORT. "Listen, there was a great moment during the Euros in which he scored a great goal. It was extrapolated up because of the poorness of Harry Kane's performances. It was turned into a wonder goal. It was a good goal, an important, really meaningful goal - but it wasn't a wonder goal.

"My point is let's get context of what Ollie Watkins is - he's a very good player. Is he a world beater? No. [If he can't get in when Kane is injured, when will he ever?] is of course the argument. That is of course something he'll be processing in his mind. They know what Ollie Watkins can do.

"Watkins is not a shoo-in, he might well be one of the first names on the team-sheet for Aston Villa, but he wouldn't be one of the first names on the team-sheet if he was playing for Man City, or Liverpool, or any other clubs challenging for the Premier League - with all due respect to Aston Villa."

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