Watkins Could Leave Aston Villa Before Transfer Deadline, Emery Admits

Unai Emery confirmed on August 21, 2026, that Ollie Watkins could depart Aston Villa before the summer transfer window closes, with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal having submitted a formal offer worth €45 million for the England international striker. The admission from Villa’s head coach marks a significant shift in tone from a club that had previously insisted Watkins would not be sold this summer.

Speaking to reporters on August 21, Emery did not rule out a Watkins exit, according to ESPN, while simultaneously acknowledging that goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez had also requested to leave the club. The dual developments signal a potentially turbulent final stretch to Villa’s transfer window, less than two weeks before the Premier League’s September 1 deadline. Emery’s public stance — guarded but no longer dismissive — was in notable contrast to Villa’s internal position earlier this month, when the club were reported by The Athletic as planning the 2026-27 season with Watkins firmly in the squad.

Emery’s Admission: A Change in Tone

Prior to Emery’s comments on August 21, Villa’s public messaging had been one of resolve. Watkins was not for sale, the club insisted, despite Al Hilal’s approach. But Emery’s press conference shifted that framing. According to ESPN’s report on August 21, the Spaniard acknowledged the possibility of a Watkins departure before September 1, describing the situation as ongoing rather than resolved.

The Athletic, reporting on August 20, indicated that Villa’s internal preference remained to keep their leading striker, with Emery himself described as wanting Watkins to stay. That tension — between the manager’s personal wish and the public acknowledgement that an exit is possible — reflects the financial reality of modern football, where a €45 million formal bid from a well-resourced Saudi club places enormous pressure on a selling club’s resolve, regardless of stated intent.

No direct quote from Watkins himself has been published confirming or denying a desire to leave. The player has not made a public statement on the reports as of August 22, 2026.

Al Hilal’s €45 Million Bid: What Is on the Table

Al Hilal’s formal offer, reported by The Athletic on August 18, was described as a package worth €45 million, including add-ons. The bid was expected to be rejected by Aston Villa at that stage, with the club holding firm on their valuation. However, Al Hilal — the same Saudi club that has previously been linked with some of the world’s most prominent attackers — have the financial firepower to return with an improved offer before the European transfer window closes.

Villa strengthened their contractual position in October 2023, when Watkins signed a new deal that left two years remaining on his contract as of this summer. That contract length, while not exceptionally long, gives Villa significant leverage: they are not under immediate pressure to sell, and Watkins is not yet in the final year of a deal that would invite departure on a free transfer.

The Saudi Pro League’s transfer window, unlike the Premier League’s, remains open beyond September 1, which means Al Hilal could technically revisit their interest after the Premier League deadline if no agreement is reached. That timeline dynamic may influence how both parties — Villa and Al Hilal — calibrate their final positions in the coming days.

Ollie Watkins: The Player at the Centre of the Storm

Watkins, who turns 31 in December 2026, has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent strikers since Villa secured promotion and subsequently established themselves as a European contender under Emery. Born in Torquay, Devon, on December 30, 1995, he came through the ranks at Exeter City before moving to Brentford, where he scored 25 goals in the Championship season that earned the Bees promotion to the Premier League in 2021.

Villa signed Watkins from Brentford in September 2020 for a reported fee of £28 million. What followed was a transformation from raw, energetic lower-league forward into one of England’s most complete number nines. By the 2023-24 season, he had become indispensable both for Villa in their Champions League campaign and for Gareth Southgate’s England setup, earning widespread recognition as among the best in his position in Europe.

His versatility — pressing high, making runs in behind, linking play with his back to goal, and converting chances with either foot — made him especially valuable under Emery’s high-intensity system. The head coach has consistently spoken about Watkins as a player who epitomises what Villa are trying to build. That makes Emery’s August 21 admission all the more significant: if even the manager is not closing the door, the situation has evolved materially.

The Bigger Picture: Villa’s Summer of Upheaval

The Watkins development is not occurring in isolation. Aston Villa’s summer of 2026 has been one of significant change. Emery confirmed on August 21 that Emiliano Martínez — Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper and 2022 World Cup winner — had also submitted a transfer request, according to ESPN. Martínez’s desire to leave adds a second high-profile destabilising element to Villa’s squad ahead of what is meant to be another ambitious European campaign.

The club also lost Ezri Konsa to Arsenal in a £51 million deal confirmed on August 21 — a significant departure from the defensive unit Emery had carefully assembled. That transfer is covered separately in our Arsenal reporting; what it underlines for Villa is that the final days of this window represent a moment of real vulnerability. The loss of Konsa, combined with potential exits for Watkins and Martínez, would constitute a wholesale dismantling of the core that reached the Champions League last 16 in 2024-25.

Villa have been active in the transfer market themselves this summer and are expected to reinvest any fees received. Emery’s project at Villa Park is built on a philosophy of constant evolution, and the manager has shown in previous windows — including when Villa sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus — that he is willing to move players on if the financial terms are right, provided adequate replacements are sourced.

Martinez’s Transfer Request: A Dual Crisis

The admission from Emery regarding Emiliano Martínez’s transfer request compounds Villa’s difficulties significantly. Martínez, who joined Villa from Arsenal in 2020 for £17 million and won the 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Glove with Argentina, has been linked with moves to the Saudi Pro League and to several of Europe’s elite clubs in recent months. At 34, Martínez may be entering the final phase of a career during which he has been consistently rated among the world’s top goalkeepers.

For Emery, managing simultaneous uncertainty over his first-choice striker and first-choice goalkeeper while preparing for the Premier League season — which began on August 22, 2026 — represents an extraordinary challenge. Villa’s opening fixtures of the 2026-27 campaign take on additional weight against this backdrop, as results will inevitably influence the club’s resolve and the mood around the ground if key players are seen to be pushing for exits.

Watkins and England: The International Dimension

Any potential move to the Saudi Pro League would carry substantial implications for Watkins’s England career. While the Football Association has no formal rule barring Saudi-based players from the national team, the practical realities — lower competition level, reduced visibility, and concerns about match sharpness — mean that a move to Al Hilal would almost certainly end Watkins’s international prospects. England boss Lee Carsley, who has been working to build on the squad that performed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, would face a significant headache if one of his key attacking options opted for financial reward over competitive football at the highest level.

Watkins featured for England at the 2026 World Cup, which concluded in July, and his performances on the international stage had cemented his status as a genuine first-choice option for Carsley’s system. A move to Saudi Arabia would put that position in jeopardy, and it remains one of the central questions in any decision Watkins must make in the coming days.

Transfer Deadline: The Clock Is Ticking

The Premier League’s summer transfer window closes at 23:00 BST on September 1, 2026. With nine days remaining as of August 22, the situation for Watkins, Martínez, and Villa is approaching a resolution one way or another. Either Al Hilal make an improved offer that Villa accept, or the window closes with both players remaining at Villa Park.

The key variables that will determine the outcome include: whether Al Hilal raise their bid above the €45 million package currently on the table; whether Watkins himself communicates a desire to leave, which would increase the club’s willingness to sell; and whether Villa can identify and secure a replacement striker in time to make a sale viable. The last point is perhaps the most significant. Emery is unlikely to sanction a departure that leaves him without a proven central striker for both the Premier League and a potential return to European competition.

As of August 22, no agreement has been reached between Aston Villa and Al Hilal. No personal terms have been reported between Al Hilal and Watkins. The move remains firmly at the speculation and formal-bid stage, with no indication that a completed transfer is imminent.

What Happens Next

The Ollie Watkins situation will develop rapidly in the coming days. Aston Villa’s early Premier League results — beginning with their opening fixture of the 2026-27 season — will set the tone for how urgently the club and player feel the need to resolve the uncertainty. A Villa squad that opens the season with a convincing performance, with Watkins leading the line, would strengthen Emery’s argument that the project at Villa Park remains worth committing to for another year.

Conversely, if Al Hilal escalate their bid to a figure that forces Villa’s hand — reportedly in the region of €55 million or above, per various market observers — and if Watkins signals a preference to move, the clock will count down quickly to a resolution before September 1.

For those following the situation, the BBC’s report from August 22 confirmed Emery’s comments and outlined the timeline facing the club. The Athletic’s coverage on August 20 and ESPN’s August 21 report, sourced from ESPN, remain the most detailed accounts of both the Watkins and Martínez situations available at this stage.

What is clear from August 22 is that Aston Villa are navigating one of the most complicated final stretches of a transfer window in the club’s recent history — and Ollie Watkins is at the very centre of it. Whether he is still a Villa player on September 2 will be one of the defining stories of the Premier League’s summer window.

Key Facts at a Glance

The broader context of this saga sits within a summer that has seen multiple Premier League clubs lose key assets to Saudi Arabian football. The Saudi Pro League has emerged as the dominant disruptive force in the global transfer market over the past three years, and while the initial wave focused on players nearing the end of their careers, the 2025 and 2026 windows have seen bids for players squarely in their prime. Watkins, at 30, fits exactly the profile Al Hilal and their Saudi counterparts have targeted: still at peak output, identifiable enough to drive commercial revenue, and at an age where a two- or three-year contract in the Gulf offers financial security that European clubs may not match.

That is the dilemma at the heart of this transfer story — not simply whether Aston Villa will sell, but whether Ollie Watkins, one of the Premier League’s most effective strikers and a key part of England’s recent setup, is ready to trade the competitive pinnacle of European football for financial certainty. The answer, one way or another, will arrive before September 1.

Sources

• ESPN’s report on August 21 — espn.com
• Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins could leave Villa before transfer deadline — bbc.co.uk
• Aston Villa reject Arsenal approach for Watkins — bbc.co.uk
• Aston Villa set to reject formal offer from Al Hilal for Ollie … — nytimes.com
• Sources: Villa reject Arsenal bid for Watkins — global.espn.com

Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons