Aston Villa are facing another major transfer headache after Ollie Watkins made it clear he wants to leave the club, with Give Me Sport reporting that Al Hilal remain firmly in pursuit of the striker. For Villa, this is the latest twist in a summer that has already stripped Unai Emery of several key names and left serious questions about how competitive the squad will look by the time the window closes.
Watkins has been one of the most dependable figures of Villa’s recent rise, delivering goals, leadership and consistency. His importance has only grown given the scale of change at Villa Park. The departures of Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa have already altered the spine of the side, and Emi Martinez is also expected to move on. New arrivals have come in, including Zion Suzuki, Johan Manzambi, Joao Gomes, Alejandro Garnacho, Matteo Ruggeri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but losing Watkins would be another blow of a very different magnitude.
Al Hilal have already made four attempts to land the England international this summer, two verbal and two formal. The latest offer, understood to be around £45m, was rejected by Villa. Even so, the situation appears to be shifting because the player’s own stance now seems central to the discussion. The report states: “Watkins wants the move, he’s told Villa that directly,” and that admission changes the tone of the situation significantly.
There is a growing sense that Al Hilal are not done yet. Villa have not publicly set a firm asking price, and while they have been trying to tie Watkins down to a new contract, the expectation is that another improved bid could test their resolve. At that point, much may depend on whether Emery and the recruitment team believe they can source a replacement before the deadline.
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Al Hilal Pressure Builds on Aston Villa
From Villa’s perspective, timing is everything. Selling a striker of Watkins’ calibre late in the window creates obvious…
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