Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa's Transfer Turmoil
Ollie Watkins stands at the centre of Aston Villa’s latest storm, with Unai Emery unable to promise his star striker will still be at Villa Park when the window slams shut.
Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal have made their move for the England international, and Emery has confirmed that formal offers are on the table. After a summer of high-profile exits, the prospect of losing Watkins would cut even deeper.
Villa’s core ripped apart
Ezri Konsa is heading to Arsenal in a £51m deal. Morgan Rogers has already gone to Chelsea for a record £117m. Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have also departed in a ruthless reshaping of a squad that only two months ago lifted the Europa League.
Now the club’s most reliable goalscorer is in play.
Emery did not try to hide the reality.
"We have an issue with him, it's clear. He is our player. We have had offers for him," he said.
"I don't want to sell him but it can change because if it's a good option for him and the club and I can replace him in the squad, this is the routine we have and we did before with the players who are leaving.
"With Ollie, he is here, for me he is a fantastic striker, we have always believed in him.
"Now he is our player, there are 10 days more or less to finish the transfer window, we will see what happens, I'm happy with him, if he is staying with us he will continue playing his level.
"If he leaving it's because it is good for three ways, one is him, another is the club and another is the team."
Watkins has been the heartbeat of Villa’s attack since arriving from Brentford for £28m in 2020. He has scored 108 goals for the club and stands as their record Premier League scorer. Losing that output, on top of the players already sold, would be a brutal blow.
If Watkins goes – and if Emi Martinez eventually follows – Villa will have cashed in on six members of the starting XI that conquered Europe in May. This is no minor refresh. It is a dismantling of a title-winning core.
Martinez in limbo, Suzuki steps in
For now, Martinez remains a Villa player, but his future is no less clouded. A proposed move to Juventus collapsed when the two clubs failed to agree a fee, leaving the World Cup winner in limbo and Emery forced into a decisive move.
Villa have spent £30m to bring in Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma as their new No.1, a signing clearly designed for the present, not just the future.
Emery was unequivocal about that.
"We have two excellent goalkeepers, of course we signed Suzuki not for the future but for now. He showed his capacity to get his performance to our level. He will need to adapt to us but he is playing at this level."
"Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career."
"Even last year, he was thinking in case he can have one possibility to change for his challenges."
"He didn't do it last year and he performed fantastic with us. This year, again, he transmitted us the possibility to have another challenge and we decided to sign Suzuki because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper."
Martinez will not be in the squad for Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brighton, having had only one training session since returning from his post-World Cup break. That leaves Suzuki thrust straight into the spotlight as Villa begin a season overshadowed by uncertainty around two of their biggest figures.
The window still has around 10 days to run. For Emery, and for Villa, those days will define whether this is a controlled evolution of a European champion – or the moment the spine of a special team is finally torn out.
