Emery Confirms Ollie Watkins' £51m Al-Hilal Move as Villa's Record PL Scorer Departs

Unai Emery has confirmed that Ollie Watkins is leaving Aston Villa for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a deal worth £51 million, ending a six-year spell that saw him become the club's all-time leading Premier League scorer.

Watkins departs with 91 Premier League goals for Villa and 108 in all competitions across 278 appearances since his £28m move from Brentford in 2020. He is now expected to travel to Riyadh to complete a medical and sign terms in Saudi Arabia.

Emery also addressed Watkins' apology for making himself unavailable for Villa's opening-day defeat to Brighton. "He told us after the Brighton match he was sorry and that he had made a mistake," Emery said. "He was wrong, but we accepted it. His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic. He's a fantastic guy, even more than a player."

Villa have moved quickly to address the gap up front, with Nicolas Jackson's £65m arrival from Chelsea already finalised as Watkins' direct replacement. Emery framed the sale as part of a necessary squad rebuild after a summer that has also seen Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne depart Villa Park. "We took decisions because it's good for the club," he said. "We have to rebuild the team as fast as possible."