Unai Emery on Ollie Watkins' Apology and Departure from Aston Villa

Unai Emery says Ollie Watkins apologised to his Aston Villa teammates for refusing to play on Sunday – and revealed their emotional farewell as the club’s record Premier League scorer heads for Saudi Arabia.

Watkins, 30, made himself unavailable for the game against Brighton, a decision Emery openly labelled a mistake but one he insists has now been forgiven inside the dressing room.

“He told us after the Brighton match he was sorry and that he had made a mistake. He was wrong, but we accepted it. The players as well,” Emery said, outlining how the situation was handled internally rather than allowed to fester.

From there, the tone shifted. The Spaniard spoke less like a manager losing a striker and more like someone saying goodbye to a figure who had helped drag Villa into a new era.

“His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic,” Emery said. “He's a fantastic guy – a fantastic guy even more than a player. I told him ‘bye’ with a huge hug and with small tears.”

Watkins is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Friday to complete a £51m move to Al-Hilal, drawing a line under a four-year spell that has reshaped the club’s modern history. Signed from Brentford for £28m in 2020, he leaves as Villa’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League with 91 goals, and 108 in all competitions.

Those numbers frame the scale of the task now facing his replacement.

Villa are poised to bring in Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson in a £65m deal, a move that underlines both the financial muscle of the Saudi Pro League and the Premier League premium on proven attacking talent. For Emery, the message was clear: Watkins’ chapter has closed, and the focus turns immediately to the man stepping into the void.

“But now it's a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson,” he said.

The goals that carried Villa into Europe have gone with Watkins. The question now is how quickly Jackson can write his own story in claret and blue.