Ollie Watkins: From Exeter City youth player to England squad member

Ollie Watkins made 99 appearances for Exeter City, before moving on to Brentford and then Aston Villa

"The fans still sing 'he's one of our own'. They loved Ollie and he loved being here," reflects Exeter City's president Julian Tagg.

Ollie Watkins was called into the England squad for the first time on Thursday and, while he may be a relatively new name to Premier League and England followers, Exeter City have known about his potential for years.

Having made his debut for the League Two club as an 18-year-old in May 2014, Watkins has shot up through football's ranks.

He was the Championship's hottest property last season as his 26 goals in 50 games helped Brentford reach the play-off final, while his hat-trick against Liverpool earlier this season showed that Aston Villa were wise to spend £28m on English talent.

Devon-born Watkins, now 25, grew up in Newton Abbot, a town about 20 miles from Exeter, and initially failed to get into Exeter's academy as a nine-year-old.

Two years later, though, he did enough to earn a place - and has never looked back.

"To be called up for England, it's mad isn't it? I can't believe it," Exeter midfielder and fellow academy product Archie Collins told BBC Sport.

"Ollie was a few years above me, but when I used to train up with the under-18s he used to be there and when he was in the first team I got to train with them and I'd train with him.

"An England call-up feels like a long way away. It takes time to get there and he's done every step well.

"He got used to the Championship at Brentford and smashed the Championship, went to the Premier League and look what happens when you keep on progressing."

The crown jewel in a remarkable academy

In three seasons at Brentford Watkins went from a relatively unknown youngster to one of the hottest properties in English football

Exeter City is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters' Trust and it is the Grecians' academy that keeps the club going. Since 2015 sales and add-ons have netted the League Two club in excess of £10m.

Watkins is the most valuable sale - an initial club record fee of £1.8m saw him leave Exeter for Brentford in July 2017 and last summer his £28m move to Aston Villa netted the club about £4m more, providing vital cash at a time when Covid-19 was decimating football finances.

He is the highest-profile name in a series of players to have gone from Exeter's academy to bigger things.

Wales defender Ethan Ampadu joined Chelsea for £1.3m with add-ons in 2018, while Swansea City captain Matt Grimes left in 2015 for a then club record £1.75m.

Meanwhile, players such as Jordan Storey, Tom Nichols, Ben Chrisene and Jay Stansfield have also left for higher-ranked opposition in recent years.

"It's been something that the club and the Supporters' Trust particularly have been right behind from the outset," Tagg says of the academy.

"The succession planning is what goes on quietly behind the scenes, but is a huge part of the ultimate success that we're seeing now."

Exeter City's two highest-profile academy graduates - Watkins and Sheffield United's on-loan Chelsea defender Ampadu - have faced each other twice inn the Premier League this season

The production line is still rolling, with eight home-grown players featuring in City's 4-0 win over Leyton Orient last week and Exeter's top scorer Matt Jay one of Watkins' closest friends from those youth days.

Winger Joel Randall reportedly garnered interest from Celtic and Charlton Athletic in January, while 21-year-old Ben Seymour could be the next home-grown star striker to follow in Watkins' footsteps.

Exeter's current manager Matt Taylor was under-23s coach when Watkins left the club in 2017.

"I got to witness him in training every day, and in terms of the young players at the club there's no better example," he told BBC Sport.

"He spent a lot of time in the gym, because young players have to get themselves up to a certain level physically.

"But he trained properly, and you can always see the ones that go onto the highest level.

"Ethan Ampadu trained properly. Ollie Watkins trained properly. They just progress and progress."