Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins playfully inserted a football beneath his shirt, creating a ‘baby bump’ during Saturday’s game, much to the delight of his girlfriend Ellie Alderson who confirmed on Monday that they are expecting their first child.
The 25-year-old striker opened the scoring at Anfield with a goal against Liverpool, and proceeded to imitate a pregnancy bump while cheerfully sucking his thumb, in celebration of his victory.
His girlfriend was delighted by the gesture as she penned a touching response on Twitter.
‘I laughed and cried!’ Aston Villa ace Ollie Watkins playfully inserted a football beneath his shirt creating a ‘baby bump’ during Saturday’s game, much to the delight of his girlfriend Ellie Alderson who confirmed on Monday that they are expecting their first child
Sharing a picture of Ollie on the pitch in his away kit with a beaming smile and his hand resting on the ‘baby bump,’ she said: ‘I laughed and cried all in the same minute,’ alongside heart and laughing crying face emojis.
Footie fans were quick to respond, congratulating the couple and applauding Ollie’s sense of humour.
One fan quipped: ‘So happy for you both. Slightly jealous because I’m in love with your man.’
Another Twitter user quipped: ‘What a wonderful celebration to Mark such a wonderful special occasion for you both! Wishing you both nothing but the best and the ability to enjoy every single moment of the journey ahead!! #UTV.’ (sic)
First-time parents: The girlfriend of the 25-year-old striker confirmed she is pregnant on Monday and was delighted by the gesture as she penned a touching response on Twitter
A third fan responded; ‘Hahahahaha I thought of you’re post soon as he did the celebration. The mans on cloud 9 clearly we’ve you to thank for that.’ (sic)
On Monday, Ellie shared a sweet photo of herself and Ollie embracing on Instagram and the mother-to-be proudly held up an ultrasound to the camera.
The loved-up couple smiled from ear to ear in the snap, with Ellie simply captioning her picture: ‘Mum and Dad.’
She also posted the same photo to her Instagram Stories, covering the ultrasound with a balloon GIF that popped to reveal the word: ‘Surprise.’
Sweet: She shared a picture of Ollie who opened the scoring at Anfield with a goal against Liverpool, and proceeded to imitate a pregnancy bump in celebration of his victory
Cause for celebration: Footie fans were quick to respond, congratulating the couple and applauding Ollie’s sense of humour
Ellie and Ollie were quickly inundated with kind messages from fans, with many writing: ‘Congratulations’ beneath her exciting post.
Last month Ollie was handed his first England call-up by national team manager Gareth Southgate for their first World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland.
Celebrating the news on Instagram, Ellie shared a photo of herself sitting on her beau’s lap, captioning the snap: ‘I love you and I’m sooo proud of you.’
He rewarded Southgate by scoring a goal after winning his first cap in the 5-0 Wembley rout of minnows San Marino on March 24th.
Supportive: Earlier this week, the couple were inundated with kind messages from fans following their pregnancy announcement, with many writing: ‘Congratulations’
Ollie has scored an impressive 12 club goals this season after stepping up to the Premier League from Brentford and this is his first call-up to an England squad at any level.
Ollie made a name for himself at Exeter City’s academy – a club which is about 20 miles from where he was born and grew up in Newton Abbot, Devon.
Having initially failed to earn a spot within the club’s youth ranks at Under 9 level in 2003, he eventually did so with the U11s.
He went on to score 30 goals for the U18s as they won the League Three South-West Division of the Professional U18 Development League in 2013-14.
Impressive: Last month the striker was handed his first England call-up by Gareth Southgate for their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers
Congratulations: Celebrating the news of Ollie’s England call-up, Ellie wrote: ‘I love you and I’m sooo proud of you’ beneath a photo of herself sitting on her beau’s lap
Weston-super-Mare midfielder Jacob Cane recently opened up about his friend to BristolLive, hailing Ollie as being ‘grounded’ and ‘a family man’.
He said: ‘He’s so grounded, such a good lad. I watched his England live interview the other day and he said he wants to do it for his family. He’s got such a good family and I’m really happy for all of them, because he works so hard and he deserves it.’
After a hectic few months on the field, Ellie seemed glad to spend some quality time with her boyfriend back in November.
Posting another photo of herself and Ollie, she wrote: ‘So nice to have some time with my love after a crazy couple of months. Love you.’
Ollie and Ellie are thought to have been an item for more than two years, with the Aston Villa star first appearing on his girlfriend’s Instagram in December 2018.
Long-term: Ollie and Ellie are thought to have been an item for more than two years, with the Aston Villa star first appearing on his girlfriend’s Instagram in December 2018