{"id":249486,"date":"2026-06-22T12:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/aston-villa-enter-last-ditch-talks-to-hijack-elite-clubs-40m-target\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:41:14","slug":"aston-villa-enter-last-ditch-talks-to-hijack-elite-clubs-40m-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/aston-villa-enter-last-ditch-talks-to-hijack-elite-clubs-40m-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Aston Villa enter last-ditch talks to hijack elite club’s \u00a340m target"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Aston Villa<\/a> striker Ollie Watkins knows his World Cup moment could be just around the corner despite playing zero minutes in England’s opening match against Croatia.<\/p>\n

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Watkins wrote himself into English football folklore two years ago when he came off the bench to score a last-minute winner against the Netherlands and send his country through to the Euro 2024 final.<\/p>\n

He is back in familiar territory in North America – on the bench behind Harry Kane in a designated \u2018finisher\u2019 role.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like I understand the competition now, I understand that everyone has their moment, everyone has a part to play and, when I see other players having their moment, I\u2019m really happy for them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI experienced mine at a great time, obviously in the semi-final, but leading up to that point, before everyone had a part to play in certain moments and I know that\u2019s the same for this tournament as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there\u2019s no pressure on me to come on at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the expectation for me is people don\u2019t see me playing, obviously they see Harry playing, but I know what I can bring to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watch the game when I\u2019m on the bench, I can see the game opens up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a completely different game when you start a game of football than when you finish it. I\u2019ve experienced that as a substitute, there are so many more opportunities when you come on.<\/p>\n

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You scored<\/p>\n

out of 20<\/p>\n