While Aston Villa's Europa League final triumph over German side Freiburg marked the Villains' first European success since 1982 and their first trophy of any kind since 1996, it also provided striker Ollie Watkins with the first medal of his career.
Goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealed a 3-0 victory for Villa in Istanbul with Prince William, the future King of England, looking on, as Watkins secured his first honour with the club.
Given everything that the Torbay-born, but Newton Abbot raised striker has achieved as a player, from scoring for England in the semi-finals and winning several individual awards, it is surprising that a player of his calibre had yet to win a trophy or a promotion.
In the 2016-17 season, he was part of the Exeter City side that lost to Blackpool in the League Two play-off against Blackpool - which proved to be his final appearance for the Grecians before his move to Brentford in the summer. However, his displays did help him to win the EFL Young player of the year award for 2017.
After he joined Brentford, Watkins continued his upward trajectory as a player as he won the Championship player of the year prize for the 2019-20 campaign. Nevertheless, by the time that the Bees eventually made it to the Premier League in 2020-21, he had already secured his move to Villa Park.
With Champions League football assured for Villa for the 2026-27 season, further success could yet follow for Watkins, who is also one of number of players waiting for Thomas Tuchel's England squad announcement for the World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.
