Ollie Watkins has 12 goals in 44 appearances for Aston Villa this season. England might not play again until the summer, but Thursday night would have brought a smile to Thomas Tuchel's face. The England manager watched his side labour for goals without captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane during last month's friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. It once again underlined Tuchel's limited options when it comes to an alternative for 32-year-old Kane, with the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico a little more than two months away.

So he would have been very happy to find out Ollie Watkins had come up with two more goals for Aston Villa in their 3-1 win against Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final first leg in Italy. The Villa forward was left out of the expanded 35-man England squad by Tuchel in March, having scored just one goal in his previous nine Premier League matches. "Watkins is not with us but this is more down to the fact that I know what he can bring to the group - I know him very well," Tuchel said during the squad announcement. Despite the comments, the striker's hopes of making it to the World Cup were left in doubt.

Watkins' response to the setback has been nothing short of emphatic, with the 30-year-old adding to the goal he scored against West Ham in the Premier League just before the international break. "It's the back end of the season and I'm raring to go," Watkins told TNT Sports after Villa moved one step closer to a place in a European semi-final. "I could play another 90 minutes. I'm excited for the next few games. I'm hungry."

After Ezri Konsa's opener against the run of play in Bologna, Watkins eased Villa's nerves with a second early in the second half as he pounced on a mistake from Torbjorn Heggem and finished through the legs of goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia. After the Serie A side then scored a late goal through Jonathan Rowe in the 90th minute, Watkins restored Villa's two-goal advantage in the 94th minute from a corner, before the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday (20:00 BST).

Watkins has now scored three goals in his last five games across all competitions, after managing just one in his previous 12 appearances. His three goals in three Europa League games is the same amount he scored in his previous 24 appearances in major European competitions.

Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin believes Watkins' uptick in form could not have come at a better moment for both club and country. "It's good timing, isn't it? Lots of things happening at the end of this season," Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live. "There is the possibility of the centre-forward position waiting with England at the World Cup, there's a chance at securing Champions League football and there's a possible European final, and here he is scoring two goals and looking very sharp and very lively indeed. The chances he got, he scored."

"Bologna went for it and left him one versus one, so he knew he was going to get opportunities, and it was up to him to take them. He did take them, and did so very well, and he will take the headlines." Tuchel handed opportunities to Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United and Dominic Solanke of Tottenham in Kane's absence last month but neither was able to make a lasting impression. Watkins was injured for most of England's World Cup qualifying campaign and has played just once under the German manager - coming on as a substitute in a win over Serbia in September.

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But former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves believes Watkins' latest display has put him firmly back into contention. "If you score two goals in a European knockout tie, trust me your name is back in the mix," Hargreaves told TNT Sports. "To be honest the boys didn't rip up trees the other day either, so if Watkins keeps scoring he will be in. He is unselfish, he's humble and he is a good goalscorer when he gets opportunities. Yes, he can run the channels and create opportunities, but if he is scoring goals then he is almost impossible to leave off the plane."

Former Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov added: "For Watkins, there were so many questions about his performances and scoring goals, but every time Villa need him to produce, he does. That is what makes him first choice. "In the back of his mind he is thinking of the World Cup, definitely. When he is with England he has to score, he has to perform and tonight is a good start."

With Villa entering a defining period of the season - chasing their first trophy in 30 years and a return to the Champions League - Unai Emery knows his striker must continue to deliver. "Watkins is a fighter," the Villa manager said. "Sometimes he plays brilliant like today and sometimes not. When he is not scoring we lack something from him. But he always plays well because he his doing his task and working for the team. "Today he scored two goals which is fantastic. It is positive for him and for us. He is always consistent in his work."