GARETH Southgate had some big decisions to make this week, cutting his provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024 down to 26 players.

Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish were two of those to fall by the wayside, but Ollie Watkins has retained his space on the flight to Germany.

The Aston Villa striker has had the season of a lifetime under Spanish manager Unai Emery which feels strange to say given his Devonshire roots.

Watkins was born in Torbay Hospital, grew up in Newton Abbot and attended South Dartmoor Community College.

Ethan Ampadu and Dan Gosling are just two footballers to hail from the county but perhaps none have reached the same heights as Watkins.

Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Cole Palmer were the only three players in the entire Premier League to better Watkins’ goal tally of 19and he also had the most assists in the division.

The 28-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise from his days of playing for Exeter City and Weston-super-Mare, to now lacing his boots for the European Championships, and awaiting a debut Champions League campaign next season with Villa as well.

Fans of either Exeter, or their rivals Plymouth Argyle, will remember an iconic brace he scored in a 2016 Devon Derby victory, the second of the two strikes being named as the club’s Goal of the Season.

Returning to the matter at hand though and Watkins is one of three out-and-out centre-forwards to feature in Southgate’s squad.

Harry Kane is sure to start up front as perhaps the most influential English footballer of his generation, his exceptional season in Germany with Bayern Munich reminding everyone of the calibre that he possesses.

Brentford’s striker Ivan Toney is the third contender for the position but he has just two caps to his name at the time of writing and was an unused substitute in the Monday night victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Watkins, a former Bee himself, started the 3-0 win, taking his cap tally to 12.

Tonight, Southgate’s men will face Iceland in the final friendly before the Euros and then the real deal will be upon us.

This will actually be a first major tournament for Watkins in an England shirt as well- he featured in the provisional squad for Euro 2020 but missed out and then Callum Wilson went in his place to Qatar in the winter of 2022.

Not only is he in the squad but the Devon boy has a very good chance of featuring prominently and making a difference for the Three Lions, offering an alternative option to Harry Kane in the final third.

Go well Ollie and help bring football home!