Ollie Watkins jokingly digs out David Beckham for Instagram post after England star’s heroics against Netherlands

NINE summers ago Ollie Watkins went on a lads’ holiday after helping to save Conference South side Weston-Super-Mare from relegation, writes Dan King.

Now he’s just fired England into the Euro 2024 final with a sensational 90th-minute winner.

And even helped Aston Villa qualify for the Champions League last season.

Watkins arrived on the Somerset coast as a teenaged striker on loan from League Two Exeter in December 2014.

His 10 goals in 24 league games were a big factor in stopping Weston from slipping into the sixth tier for the first time in their history – and in giving them something to celebrate on a post-season trip to Spain.

But it was also his workrate and attitude that earned him the respect of the dressing room, and helped him take the first significant steps on the road to stardom.

Ryan Northmore, boss of Weston at the time, said: “His goals saved the club from relegation. But he contributed much more than his goals, which is really important when you’re scrapping away for your lives.

“He wasn’t just sat at the top of the pitch waiting for the ball to come. He would roll his sleeves up and get involved in all aspects of the game.”

Days after joining, Watkins made an instant impact with an equaliser against Farnborough.

Team-mate Tom Jordan said: “He always struck me as the kind of lad who had his eyes wide open to different aspects of the game.

“Sometimes you would have loan lads come in from a League club to non-League and they would be looking at you like they were doing you a favour.

“His attitude was very different. He was coming in thinking, ‘I’m going to learn from this experience’.”

It was during Watkins’ spell at Weston that the then Walsall boss Dean Smith spotted him.

Smith would later take the striker to Brentford and bring him to Villa, where he has reached new levels under current boss Unai Emery.

But Watkins has never forgotten the part that Weston played in his rise to the top.

One of his Villa shirts is on display there, he has spoken to young players coming through and happily tells the local press how important and enjoyable his time at the club was.

And he even helped fund an end-of-season boys’ trip to Spain due to his fines for being late – although he was allowed to join the rest of the squad.

Read all about Ollie Watkins’ incredible rise in full…

AFTER what has been a tough tournament of times, what an opportunity Gareth Southgate and his team will have to end in the best possible way, writes Jack Wilshere.

We might like a team that played better football. But it’s a results business.

Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and of course Holland would love to be where we are.

People will say we’re lucky because we’re on this side of the draw.

But we won the group. France didn’t and then ran into Spain.

You can say it wasn’t that pretty, but we’re there.

Gareth and his coaches won’t have been happy with some of the performances.

But I did like the way Gareth and his team have dealt with it.

There was no panic coming out of the camp.

Everyone gave the same message: ‘We know we can better, but we’re here still.’

And on Sunday they will be in Berlin to play Spain.

They will probably have to produce two halves of football as good as the first against Holland to beat them.

We have improved as the tournament has gone on and that is how you win things.

You want to peak in the final.

If Gareth can lead England to that major trophy we’ve all been waiting for, it will be the perfect answer to the critics and a brilliant day for us all.

Read Jack Wilshere’s England vs Holland verdict in full.

Or check out all of SunSport columnist Jack’s Euros 2024 opinions…