Ollie Watkins is to leave Aston Villa – it is an emotional goodbye to the England striker, but it is official, says Unai Emery.
According to British sources, Watkins is also close to joining Saudi Pro League outfit Al Hilal on a £50m ($67m) deal. Chelsea manager Emery is likely to replace him with Villa’s attacking forward Nicolas Jackson as he looks to rebuild his attacking line-up.
The striker was dropped from Villa’s squad for their opening game of the Premier League season against Brighton as he was unable to play. Later, Watkins apologised to the team and admitted that he had made a mistake.
He’s sorry and he made a mistake, Emery said after the Brighton game. “His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic.”
The dismissal comes on such a special footwear for Watkins who has a history of failure at the club. He has been on loan from Brentford since his £28m transfer in 2020 and has netted 91 times in the Premier League for Villa, the club’s top scorer. He has overall scored 108 goals in all competitions.
Emery said he was “emotional” as he waved goodbye to the striker, stating Watkins was a “fantastic guy” and he would embrace him “with a lot of tears in my eyes.”
Villa also have more changes to come in their ranks, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez said to be heading to Chelsea. However, Emery was able to justify the club’s strategy of releasing top players, saying that significant transfer fees could be used to bolster the rebuilding efforts.
The rebuild has already got under way with the signing of former Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka on a free transfer. The 31-year-old has seven Bundesliga championships and a Champions League to his credit.
