Al Hilal’s Ollie Watkins Chase Intensifies
Al Hilal are in serious pursuit of Ollie Watkins, and the player is clearly up for the move to the Saudi Pro League. The Saudi club’s latest bid, worth £45m, has been rejected by Villa, according to The Athletic, but there will be a figure in the club’s head that gets the deal done.
Unai Emery admitted as much in his press conference on Friday ahead of the season opener against Brighton. “We have offers for him. He’s our player, I don’t want to sell him, but that can change because if it’s a good option for him, good option for the club and I can replace him, this is the routine we have.”
Where is Watkins?
If you needed further evidence that this has been a ongoing concern this week, MOMS was told on Monday evening (17/08) that Watkins was seen being dropped off in his distinctive car in the Premium Set Down area of Birmingham Airport’s departures.
The tip came from a trusted source who was also travelling that evening, around two hours before the scheduled 21:40 Monday departure from Birmingham to Dubai, landing around 08:40 the following morning local time. It’s exactly the kind of overnight window that allows for an early meeting on the other end and a flight home the same day if needed, without the expense of a long-distance private jet, which he could also have taken.
Now, of course, it could be a coincidence he was at the airport at that time, but any player weighing up such a genuinely transformative offer, one with everything from family to long-term security wrapped up in it, would make the trip to press the flesh and check things out, before committing to any decision.
The End Game
Emery’s reaction and tone in that press conference, the constant reports of Al Hilal offers, and a lack of “look who’s back at training” pictures from the club’s media team, all point to a deal reaching a climactic stage, and the timing fits a player who needed to be in Dubai this week.
Of course, the move is about the money, with Villa even trying to give the player an extra couple of years on his contract, a token gesture compared to what Watkins is expected to receive by signing for Al Hilal.
Beyond the transfer fee itself, any further delay is also likely down to Villa wanting a replacement lined up before signing off on the move. One name constantly mentioned throughout the transfer window has been Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, a forward Emery knows from his time at Villarreal. But the clock is ticking.
Emery’s Selection Headache
In the short-term, Emery said he doesn’t yet know if Watkins will feature in Sunday’s season opener at Brighton, and with Brian Madjo injured and Tammy Abraham also a doubt through a groin injury, that leaves a genuine selection problem up front.
Add Watkins to a mass exodus that already includes Ezri Konsa and potentially Emi Martínez, and the spine of the Europa League winners will have been all but removed.
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I’m open minded about Watkins on one hand I’m very unsure about letting him go at this very late stage because we will absolutely need a replacement in place on the other hand we have replaced the leaving players so far with much younger players which I believe is a good thing some excellent signings including Manzambi ,and as this will be the last chance given Watkins age to obtain a high price for him , do we go all the way and replace all of our existing older players including Watkins and start our new re build with all new younger players I’m tempted to think particularly as Watkins is keen to go that maybe it would be a good idea.