Jamie Carragher has hailed Ollie Watkins after the striker continued his impressive run of form to help Aston Villa smash Newcastle.
Villa claimed a 3-0 win over the Magpies to burgeon their hopes of claiming a European qualification place. Unai Emery's men are now sixth in the Premier League table, having now gone eight games unbeaten with their victory on Saturday lunchtime.
Watkins was the star of the show at Villa Park, scoring twice and also claiming the assist for Jacob Ramsey's opening goal. The Englishman's double means he has now scored 11 goals in his last 12 Premier League games, firing Villa into European contention.
His performances since the top-flight returned after the World Cup have drawn the eye of Carragher, who has hailed the 27-year-old. He tweeted: "What a performance from Ollie Watkins. Unstoppable!"
Watkins is putting himself in the frame for an England call-up for the next set of Euro 2024 qualifiers in June. His last appearance for the Three Lions came last March, when he scored in a friendly win over the Ivory Coast.
Given that he is now bang in form, Watkins could be a leading contender to feature in Gareth Southgate's squad to take on Malta and North Macedonia. Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand certainly believes he should be included.
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"He couldn't have done much more at all [to earn a call-up], I thought he was magnificent today. I’m talking from a defender’s point of view, you ask me who you’d pick out of the three of them - him, Wilson or Isak - and I said he would give you a hard day’s work," he told BT Sport.
"He would make you have to be an honest pro when you play against him because he will ask you all the questions a defender doesn’t want [to answer]. Are you able to run into areas that you’re not comfortable out wide? Are you willing to have to match him physically?
"He’s always on the move, he’s brave and takes the ball at all times, isn’t scared to make mistakes and he’s got a humility about the way he plays. On form, he can’t not be in the England squad."
Watkins sits just behind Manchester City star Erling Haaland in terms of goals scored since the World Cup. Haaland has notched 12 goals in that period, to help City close the gap on Arsenal, with Ferdinand insisting the comparison showcases Watkins' talent.
"He’s scored the same amount of goals as Haaland since we’ve got back from the World Cup, since the fixtures started again. That tells you the level he’s operating at," Ferdinand added.
"From Watkins’ point of view, he’s playing against two centre halves who are probably the most consistent performers at Newcastle - Botman and Schar. He absolutely took them to the cleaners today, bullied them, hustled them."
