Watkins has earned his first Three Lions call-up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland. Smith believes the 25-year-old deserves to be handed his first international call-up.
Watkins joined the Villans before the beginning of this campaign for a club-record fee of £28 million from Championship side Brentford and has since been a revelation for the Birmingham-based club.
The Torquay-born star has scored 12 goals in 30 games in all competitions for Aston Villa so far and his performances at the Villa Park have been rewarded with a call-up to the national team.
"It's a very proud moment and well deserved for Ollie [Watkins] - I have spoken glowingly about his attitude and how hard he works,” Smith reacted to Watkin’s call-up.
“I'm thrilled for him and his family, we told him that Aston Villa could be a great platform for him and so it has proved. I called him as soon as it was announced and I could tell from his voice how happy he was.
"One of the questions when I met up with him in the summer was how can you get me into the England squad but I can honestly say he has got himself into the England squad - he's worked very hard since he's been at Villa and he's a joy to work with.
“But just getting into the England squad won't be enough for Ollie he will want to get on the pitch for England, he'll want to start and he'll want to score goals for England. He’s one of the most hard-working individuals that I’ve worked with. Everyone at the football club is thrilled for him.
"It shows there is great progression at this club, Jack Grealish, Tyrone Mings and now Ollie and I think Gareth Southgate name checked Matt Cash and I'm sure he'll be keeping an eye on Ezri Konsa as well and we also have Ross Barkley so there's six players who could potentially get to the euros so it's a great statement of intent from this football club."
