Dwight Yorke: Ollie Watkins can be Harry Kane’s England successor

Yorke, who scored 80 goals in 255 appearances for Villa, said there is still huge potential for further improvement in Watkins, who had his best Premier League season so far for the claret and blues last term with 15 goals.

And Yorke, who won the League Cup with Villa, believes Watkins can score the goals to drive his side into the top six next season.

“When it comes to comparing [Watkins] with other players, he’s probably close to me in terms of his style of play now,” said former Trinidad & Tobago striker Yorke.

“I was probably a bit quicker and could dribble better, but he’s got good traits going for him. It’s easy to forget that three years ago he wasn’t even in the Premier League, so he’s getting used to it a lot more now.”

And in an interview with Match.Centre, Yorke added: “There’s a lot of room for him to improve and I expect him to get better, he’s just got to find a little more consistency and when you become the main guy at Villa, you have to produce.

“He’s got all the attributes to be a top player and I like what I’ve seen from him. He’ll want to improve on his goal tally, and if he can do that, he’ll drive Villa close to the top six next season.

“He is more of a typical number nine now, he’s a threat in the middle and he works incredibly hard, and he’ll keep getting better at linking the play.

“He’s got willpower and he wants to do well every time he steps on the pitch – he gives you 100 percent every game, which is credit to him.

“I don’t think he’s the finished article yet, but I’m sure all the Villa fans appreciate him as he’s always a threat, he might struggle a bit against the bigger teams but against the rest of the league, he’s a real threat.”

When asked about whether Watkins, who scored 15 league goals for Villa last season, could eventually dethrone Harry Kane as England’s first choice number nine, Yorke challenged the former Brentford man to focus on his game before getting carried away with such suggestions.

“I think he’ll probably have one eye on putting himself in line to be Harry Kane’s successor as England’s first choice striker,” he said. “But it’s important that he doesn’t get ahead of himself – he’ll want to establish himself as the main man at Villa first and once he’s done that, his next focus will be on his position in the England squad.”

And Yorke added: “You have to be doing it week on week out for your club, and once he is doing that, England will come calling. He just has to focus on Villa at the moment, and if he can bring consistency to his game then I think he’s got every chance of being England’s first choice striker in three years’ time.”

For the full interview, visit match.center