Background
Born in Lewisham in London, Watkins grew up in Swansea in Wales.
Born in Lewisham in London, Watkins grew up in Swansea in Wales.
Watkins started his career as a youth player at Swansea City but was released and he joined Cheltenham Town in 2008. He made a few substitute appearances during Cheltenham"s pre-season friendlies in the buildup to the 2008-2009 campaign. On 9 August 2008, he made his first senior appearance for the club, playing in the last ten minutes of the 4–2 defeat at Northampton Town.
In doing so, he became Cheltenham Town"s youngest player.
He scored his first professional goal after coming on as a substitute against Northampton in the 2009-2010 season. In September 2010, Watkins joined Conference National side Bath City on loan.
He subsequently signed for Bath on a permanent basis in January 2011 after his successful loan spell. At the start of the 2012-2013 season, Watkins went on trial at Hereford United of the same division.
He signed a one-year contract, with the fee being agreed at a tribunal.
He ultimately played 34 league games and scored five goals in his season at Hereford. In June 2013 it was announced that Watkins would be joining Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the 2013–2014 season. He made his Scottish Premiership debut at Celtic Park on 24 August, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with Celtic.
In November 2014, Watkins was named on standby for the Wales squad to play against Belgium in a Euro 2016 Qualifier.
On 30 May 2015, he opened the scoring for Inverness in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park, as the club secured a 2–1 victory against Falkirk. On 5 June 2015, Watkins signed for League One club Barnsley after rejecting other clubs in the Scottish Premiership, Championship and League One.