Ollie Watkins completes £50m transfer to Al Hilal, ending six-year Aston Villa spell

By: Eduardo Tansley

Ollie Watkins has always been a striker Aston Villa and their fans could be proud of.

He wasn't an instant superstar — evident from his non-League spell at Weston-super-Mare in 2014-15 — but his work ethic and character made it hard not to root for him as his career blossomed from Exeter City to Brentford to Villa and England.

After six years, Watkins said goodbye to his Villa colleagues on Thursday, before his protracted departure to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia for a £50 million fee was completed. He flew to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, but not before an emotional goodbye with manager Unai Emery.

The 30-year-old leaves as Villa's all-time Premier League top scorer (91 goals) and a Europa League winner. He should be unanimously revered, but has the ending soured his legacy?

This summer has been tumultuous for Emery's squad, and he insinuated it was Watkins' choice not to feature in a crushing 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the season. Watkins has since apologised to his teammates.

It has been an unfortunate end to an otherwise exemplary and prolific spell as Villa's talisman.

From Brentford to Villa Park

Watkins joined Villa from Brentford — then in the Championship — in September 2020.

His ascendancy since has gone hand-in-hand with Villa's — from survival to disrupting the 'Big Six' and returning to the Champions League.

Villa had missed out on signing Callum Wilson from Bournemouth when they went for Watkins, who was reunited with manager Dean Smith for a then-club-record £28 million.

"I owe it to you (Smith). I wouldn't have been at Brentford and Villa if it wasn't for him." — Ollie Watkins, speaking to Sky Sports in October 2023

Villa's recruitment team were convinced by his qualities. They viewed Watkins as robust and were encouraged by his offensive output as well as his work rate. The only question was whether he could produce in the Premier League.

He answered that emphatically. His first goals in the top flight were a hat-trick in the 7-2 drubbing of champions Liverpool.

The Emery Effect

Watkins played under Smith and Steven Gerrard, but it was Emery's arrival in November 2022 that took him to another level. He scored 19 Premier League goals in the Spaniard's first full season.

Emery encouraged Watkins to work less in the channels and instead play within the width of the box. He and Rodri, Villa's former individual coach who worked closely with Watkins, showed clips of strikers Emery had coached, including Carlos Bacca and Edinson Cavani.

Competition has come and gone — notably from Danny Ings and Jhon Duran — but Watkins has always been first choice.

Related Reading:

• Ollie Watkins completes £50m Al Hilal transfer from Aston Villa