Oliver George Arthur Watkins (born 30 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Aston Villa and the England national team.

[8][9][10][11][12][13] Watkins is a product of the Exeter City academy and made his breakthrough at the club, winning the EFL Young Player of the Year award, before departing in 2017 for Brentford.

[16] He grew up in nearby Newton Abbot and attended South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton together with Matt Jay[17] and Jamie Reid.

In April 2014, he signed a two-year professional contract [24][25] after scoring 30 goals for the Under-18 team in its 2013–14 Football League Youth Alliance South West Conference-winning season.

[26] Watkins won his maiden first-team call up when he was named as a substitute for the final League Two match of the 2013–14 season versus Hartlepool United and made his senior debut when he replaced Aaron Dawson after 77 minutes of the 2–0 victory.

[40] He had an eventful season, making 52 appearances, scoring 16 goals, and contributing 13 assists,[41] though the campaign ended with Exeter losing 2–1 to Blackpool in the 2017 League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

[44] On 18 July 2017, Watkins joined Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract, with an option for a further year, for an undisclosed fee,[41] reported to be £1.8 million.

[51] Exeter City made £4 million and a further £750,000 in additional performance related add-ons from the transfer as they had inserted a sell-on clause when Watkins was sold to Brentford.

[citation needed] On 15 September, Watkins made his Aston Villa debut, scoring in a 3–1 away win in the EFL Cup against Burton Albion.

[55] It was Liverpool's heaviest defeat in 57 years and was the first time in Premier League history that a reigning champion had conceded 7 goals in a single match.

[58] On 25 February 2023, Watkins scored in his fifth consecutive Premier League match, a 2–0 win away to Everton, becoming the first Aston Villa player to achieve this feat.

[59] On 23 August 2023, Watkins scored a hat-trick in Villa's 5–0 win against Hibernian in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round, which ensured the team's qualification for the group stage.

[68] On 18 March 2021, Watkins was named in Gareth Southgate's England squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against San Marino, Albania and Poland.

[72] Watkins made his first start for England on 29 March 2022 at Wembley in a friendly against the Ivory Coast, scoring the opening goal in the 30th minute of the 3–0 win.

[3][4][5] Watkins has described himself as "a number 10",[84] and in 2017 named Thierry Henry as his idol, saying "I try to base my game on his, by driving at defenders and looking to make something happen when I get the ball".