Watkins completes £51m move to Saudi side Al-Hilal
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Ollie Watkins has completed his £51m move from Aston Villa to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, signing a three-year deal, while Villa are separately closing in on a £29m deal for Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis ahead of Tuesday's transfer deadline. The 30-year-old striker's departure ends a six-year Villa Park spell in which he became the club's record Premier League goalscorer with 91 goals and helped Unai Emery's side become regular top-six contenders, including winning the Europa League, their first European trophy in 44 years.
Watkins had made himself unavailable for Villa's Premier League opener against Brighton and later apologised to Emery, who said he shed "small tears" over the exit; he joins Crysencio Summerville, who moved to Al-Hilal from relegated West Ham. The Harwood-Bellis deal, worth an initial £25m plus £4m in add-ons after an earlier £18m bid was rejected, is part of a wider Villa squad overhaul that has also brought in Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson (a club-record £65m signing to replace Watkins), Joao Gomes, Zion Suzuki and Matteo Ruggeri, as the club seek to comply with Uefa's squad cost ratio rules.
- Watkins' £51m Al-Hilal move from Aston Villa is now complete
- Villa nearing £29m deal for Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis
- Villa overhauling squad with several new signings to meet Uefa rules
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Aston Villa have sold their star striker Ollie Watkins to Al-Hilal, a Saudi Pro League club, in a deal worth around £51m. Watkins joined Villa six years ago and went on to become the club's all-time top Premier League scorer, playing a key role as the team rose to challenge for European places and won the Europa League. His move follows a growing trend of established Premier League players switching to Saudi clubs, which have been spending heavily to attract talent.
The transfer comes as Villa look to rebuild their squad before Tuesday's deadline, bringing in several new signings, including a forward to replace Watkins, while also needing to manage their finances under Uefa's rules that limit how much clubs can spend relative to their income. Manager Unai Emery has spoken publicly about how much Watkins meant to the club's recent success.
Full account
Ollie Watkins has left Aston Villa to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal in a deal reported to be worth £51m, bringing an end to a six-year spell in which the striker became the most prolific Premier League goalscorer in the club's history. The 30-year-old England forward has put pen to paper on a three-year contract, with both clubs confirming the switch.
Watkins arrived at Villa Park from Brentford in 2020 for around £28m and went on to score 91 Premier League goals and 108 in all competitions, becoming a central figure as Unai Emery's side transformed from relegation strugglers into regular top-six contenders and, in the process, ended a 44-year wait for a European trophy by winning the Europa League. His goals last season, including strikes in that continental run, underlined the value he added even as talk of a departure grew.
The move came together after a slightly awkward final chapter at Villa: Watkins withdrew himself from the squad for the club's Premier League curtain-raiser away at Brighton, a game Villa lost heavily, and Emery said the striker had apologised for the timing. Despite that, the manager spoke warmly of Watkins as their time together ended, describing an emotional farewell, while the player posted a lengthy tribute thanking those who had shaped his career at the club, from Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard to Emery himself, and reflecting on personal milestones including the births of his children in Birmingham.
Watkins' exit is one of several this summer as Villa continue to remodel their squad, with Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also moving on, while the club have been busy reinvesting, most notably in Bayern Munich's Nicolas Jackson as a direct replacement, alongside pursuits of other new recruits. At Al-Hilal, Watkins links up with fellow Premier League departee Crysencio Summerville, continuing the flow of established top-flight talent into the Saudi league.
Where outlets differ
The BBC account gives far more space to Watkins' own farewell statement and Emery's emotional reaction, plus detail on Villa's incoming transfer business (a move for Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis, the earlier signings of Nicolas Jackson and Johan Manzambi), none of which the Guardian report covers.
The Guardian piece is more precise on contract and statistical detail, noting Watkins still had two years left on his Villa deal and specifying he scored 21 goals in all competitions last season (five in the Europa League), figures the BBC report does not break out.
The Guardian names destinations for other departing Villa players (Konsa to Arsenal, Tielemans to Manchester United, Martinez to Chelsea) where the BBC report lists the same departures without confirming where they moved to.
The Guardian report also bundles in unrelated transfer news (Roma's signings of De Roon and Balerdi, Rafael Leão's move to Galatasaray), reflecting a roundup format rather than a Watkins-focused piece.
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