The question was in reference to Harry Kane and the easy answer was the equivalent of a slap, 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 man he is trying to supplant. Kane, of course, is the country’s all-time record scorer and a guaranteed starter. But three months ago, Watkins replaced Kane in Dortmund and scored a fantastic, instinctive 90th-minute winner against the Netherlands to send England to the Euro 2024 final.

It was undoubtedly the biggest moment of the Aston Villa striker’s career, an extraordinary journey that has taken him from loan at Weston-super-Mare to the Champions League, where Watkins and Kane are likely to play each other on Wednesday. Bayern Munich and Kane flew to Birmingham on Tuesday for a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final in Rotterdam, won by Villa thanks to a Peter Withe goal.

Bayern are optimistic Kane will shake off an ankle injury he suffered in Saturday’s draw against Bayer Leverkusen at Villa Park. Watkins, who asked whether Kane is constantly helping him and vice versa when the pair are on duty in England, alluded to the competitive background that obviously underlies their relationship. “Um, that’s a tough question to be honest,” was Watkins’ response. “Everyone is fighting for a place on the field. Obviously I want to be the guy to play, but day in and day out we have a good relationship, we talk and when I’m in camp I talk to him so there’s no animosity and I do everything I can be that. on the field and so does he.”

Watkins and Kane spent more than six weeks together before and during the European Championship 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 whole Bayern team is one of the best teams in the league,” said Watkins . “He has the records and has scored so many goals for a reason. He gets all the credit he deserves. He has worked hard in recent years.”

Kane, who was withdrawn against Leverkusen with four minutes of normal time remaining, is expected to be fit for Villa. Bayern sporting director Max Eberl gave a positive update on Kane on Tuesday. Kane has scored ten goals in seven games this season, including four against Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener. “He’s feeling really good,” Eberl said. “But I’m not a doctor, I can’t draw any conclusions.” Manager 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 intended to represent Villa in the Champions League when Unai Emery was appointed in October 2022. “Not for one minute. We were bottom of the (Premier) League, and I never thought we would finish seventh that season (2022-23) and then finish fourth (in 2023-24). He completely changed us as players and as a club, so all credit to him and us as players. I never dreamed of it.”