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FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Ryan Dabbs

‘To go from League Two to scoring that goal for England in 10 years, you don’t get that without riding the wave perfectly. He’s optimised every opportunity’: Ollie Watkins' rise from Exeter City to England heroics relied on one crucial change

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa in action during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Arsenal FC at Villa Park on August 24, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images).

Ollie Watkins sent England into raptures when bagging in the 90th minute against the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 2024, but that moment may have never happened if it wasn't for a key positional change earlier in his career.

A left-winger by trade in the Exeter City youth teams, then first team manager Paul Tisdale highlights that, while Watkins stood out from other players in his age group, he was by no means a boy wonder ready to take the senior side by storm.

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