Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins called up to England squad by Gareth Southgate

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has been called up to the England squad for the March internationals, according to reports.

Despite not being named in Gareth Southgate’s original 25-man group, he is among a number of alterations set to be confirmed later today, as reported by The Athletic. Watkins could feature in England's friendlies against Ivory Coast and Switzerland.

England host Switzerland this coming Saturday at Wembley, before then entertaining Ivory Coast three days later on Tuesday, March 29. The 26-year-old has been capped five times for his country, scoring a single goal which came on his debut against San Marino in March 2021.

Watkins will meet up with his international teammates when they report for duty at St George’s Park on Tuesday. After being left out of Southgate's final squad for Euro 2020, he will be hoping to prove why he should be included in the World Cup squad later this year, with the tournament set to kick-off in Qatar this November.

Watkins has scored seven goals for Villa this season after making 26 Premier League appearances to date.