Unai Emery's Emotional Farewell to Ollie Watkins Ahead of Saudi Move
Unai Emery stood in front of the cameras and talked about money, strategy and rebuilding. But the moment that cut through came when he described saying goodbye to Ollie Watkins.
“I told him ‘bye’ with a huge hug and with small tears,” he admitted.
Not a line you hear often from a manager who has spent the last two years turning Aston Villa into one of the Premier League’s sharpest, most ruthless operations.
Watkins, Villa’s record Premier League scorer, is heading for the exit. A £51m move to Al-Hilal awaits, the 30-year-old expected in Saudi Arabia on Friday to complete the deal. It ends a four-year spell that began with a £28m switch from Brentford in 2020 and produced 91 Premier League goals, 108 in all competitions, and a central role in Villa’s rise back towards the elite.
The departure has not been clean. Watkins refused to play in Sunday’s match against Brighton as the move gathered pace, a decision that jarred with the image of a striker whose work-rate and attitude had long been held up as a standard.
Emery did not gloss over it. He didn’t need to.
“He told us after the Brighton match he was sorry and that he had made a mistake. He was wrong, but we accepted it. The players as well,” the Villa manager said.
The apology came, the dressing room listened, and the club chose forgiveness over fallout.
His next words showed why.
“His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic. He’s a fantastic guy – a fantastic guy even more than a player.”
For a coach obsessed with detail and discipline, that is as close to a love letter as it gets. Watkins pushed Villa into Europe, led the line through tactical shifts and injury crises, and became the face of Emery’s project. Now, like so many established Premier League names this era, he leaves for Saudi Arabia with one last major contract on the table and a fee Villa simply could not ignore.
Emery didn’t hide the financial reality.
“We took decisions because it’s good for the club,” he said. “Of course, we don’t want to be a club that sells players, but the responsibility is there. It’s crazy [money for someone] 30 years old and £50m for Ezri Konsa [who is 28].”
Those numbers shape everything. Villa have spent the last year driving up the value of their core players; now they are cashing some of that in. Emery framed it not as a retreat, but as proof of progress.
“How we developed in the last year with some players and how we can sell some players now is completely the right decision,” he argued. “We have to rebuild the team as fast as possible. [Fans] have to accept our way and why we are taking some decisions.”
The rebuild has already started.
Nicolas Jackson is lined up as Watkins’ successor, Villa agreeing a £65m deal with Chelsea for the Senegal forward. The club are working to have him registered in time for Monday night’s home game against Arsenal. That is the speed of the transition: one record scorer out, a new focal point potentially in place within days.
“Now it’s a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson,” Emery said, the line delivered with the finality of someone who has already emotionally moved on, even if the tears were still fresh.
Jackson will not walk into a gentle environment. Watkins leaves a heavy shirt behind – 91 Premier League goals, countless pressing runs, and a bond with a fanbase that watched him grow from promising signing to England international. Whoever follows must not only score, but convince a stadium still processing the loss of one of its modern greats.
Emery knows the mood. Watkins is not the only experienced figure to go this summer, and the manager’s message to supporters was clear: trust the plan.
The club’s response has not been limited to the front line. In midfield, Villa have added a serial winner. Leon Goretzka completed his move on a free transfer on Thursday after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season. Seven Bundesliga titles, a Champions League, and a reputation as a big-game presence arrive with him.
“He is a winner. He is a very competitive player – a good player to add into our squad,” Emery said. “He is versatile and arrives fit and training well. Hopefully on Monday he can be on the field.”
If Goretzka steps out against Arsenal and Jackson’s paperwork lands in time, Villa Park will see the new era begin almost as soon as the old one ends. Watkins will be thousands of miles away, starting his Saudi adventure, his 108 goals already part of club history.
Emery has made his call: sell at peak value, reinvest aggressively, rebuild at speed. The emotion of that “huge hug” and those “small tears” is real, but so is the calculation.
Now Villa must prove that this ruthless summer, and the loss of their record scorer, is the foundation for something bigger – not the moment the momentum slips away.
