Watkins talks Kane rivalry ahead of Champions League clash with Bayern | Aston Villa

The question was about Harry Kane and the simple answer was one of typing, but instead Ollie Watkins paused before offering a candid assessment of the nuanced dynamics at play. For Watkins, Kane is his England captain, a teammate but also, to put it bluntly, the guy he is trying to displace. Kane is of course the country's record goalscorer and a guaranteed starter. But in Dortmund three months ago, Watkins replaced Kane and scored a superb, instinctive 90th-minute winner against the Netherlands that sent England to the Euro 2024 final.

It was certainly the greatest moment of the Aston Villa striker's career, an extraordinary journey that has taken him from his loan spell at Weston-super-Mare to the Champions League, in which Watkins and Kane are expected to face off on Wednesday. Bayern Munich and Kane flew to Birmingham on Tuesday ahead of a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final in Rotterdam, which Villa won thanks to a Peter Withe goal.

Bayern are optimistic that Kane will recover from the ankle injury he sustained in Saturday's draw with Bayer Leverkusen at Villa Park. Asked whether Kane constantly helps him and vice versa when the pair play in England, Watkins pointed to the competitive background that naturally underlies their relationship. “Um, that's a tough question, to be honest,” came Watkins' response. “Everyone is fighting for a place on the pitch. Of course I want to be the man to play, but day after day we have a good relationship, we talk and when I'm in camp I talk to him so there's no hostility and I do everything I can, to be it on the pitch and he is too.”

Watkins and Kane spent more than six weeks together before and during the European Championships in Germany. “Harry is a top player, everyone knows what he is capable of, he has shown what he can do in recent seasons so everyone knows his threat, but the entire Bayern team is one of the best teams in the competition,” Watkins said. “He set the records and scored so many goals and for good reason. He gets all the credit he deserves. He’s put in a lot of hard work over the years.”

Kane, who was eliminated against Leverkusen four minutes before the end of regular time, is expected to be fit again for the game against Villa. Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl gave a positive update on Kane on Tuesday. Kane has scored 10 goals in seven games this season, including four against Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener. “He feels very good,” said Eberl. “But I'm not a doctor, I can't draw any conclusions.” Coach Vincent Kompany later confirmed that a final assessment of the 31-year-old's fitness would take place on Wednesday morning.

Watkins said he never thought about representing Villa in the Champions League when Unai Emery was appointed in October 2022. “Not for a minute. We were at the end of the [Premier] League, and I never thought we would finish this season [2022-23] Seventh and then fourth [in 2023-24]. He has completely transformed us as players and as a club, so he and we as players deserve full recognition. I never dreamed of that.”