Ollie Watkins: Aston Villa striker is man on mission but will England boss Thomas Tuchel take notice?

England might not play again until the summer, but Thursday night could bring a smile to Thomas Tuchel’s face.

The England manager watched the England manager score goals in friendlies against Uruguay and Japan last month without his captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane.

With the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico just over two months away, Tuchel’s limited options when it comes to an alternative for the 32-year-old Kane have been highlighted once again.

He would have been very happy if he had learned that Ollie Watkins scored two more goals in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Bologna in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final in Italy.

The Villa forward was left out of the 35-man England squad by Tuchel in March and had scored just one goal in his previous nine Premier League matches.

“Watkins is not with us but it’s more about knowing what he can bring to the group; I know him very well,” Tuchel said during the squad announcement.

Despite the comments, the striker’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup have been cast into doubt.

Watkins’ reaction to this defeat was quite emphatic; The 30-year-old player contributed to the goal he scored against West Ham in the Premier League before the international break.

“It’s the end of the season and I’m raring to go,” Watkins told TNT Sports after Villa moved one step closer to the European semi-finals.

“I can play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.”

Following Bologna’s Ezri Konsa’s first-time strike, Watkins eased Villa’s nerves early in the second half when he pounced on Torbjorn Heggem’s error and fired the ball over goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia’s legs.

After the Serie A side scored a late goal through Jonathan Rowe in the 90th minute, Watkins restored Villa’s two-goal advantage from a 94th-minute corner ahead of the second leg at Villa Park next Thursday (20:00 BST).