Six years at Villa Park, over in a weekend
Al-Hilal confirmed it on Sunday night. Ollie Watkins is theirs, for 58 million euros with a further two million in bonuses. The England striker leaves Aston Villa after six full seasons.
There is a reason for the urgency. Darwin Nunez has gone out on loan to Al Diriyah, Karim Benzema looks all but gone, and Al-Hilal were staring at a centre-forward shortage at the worst possible moment. Watkins plugs that hole immediately.
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108 goals, and nobody talked about him
Look at the record properly. Two hundred and seventy-eight matches for Villa, 108 goals, 47 assists. A goal every two and a half games, sustained across a quarter of a thousand appearances, at a club that spent most of that period outside the top four.
Last season told the same story: 16 goals and three assists in 55 games. The Torquay-born forward also collected the first trophy of his career, the Europa League, after a 3-0 win over Freiburg in the final.
Twenty-four England caps sit alongside all that. Watkins was never the striker anyone named first. He was just the one still near the top of the charts in May.
Villa cash in, Al-Hilal keep spending
Aston Villa are not caught short. Nicolas Jackson was confirmed late in the week and more attacking business is being worked on before the deadline. Banking almost 60 million for a 30-year-old forward is a call they have made with clear eyes.
Al-Hilal’s bill, meanwhile, keeps climbing. Watkins in, Gabriel Martinelli linked, Benzema out. The Saudi Pro League is rebuilding its front lines in ten-million chunks with two days left on the European window.
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