Emery sheds tears as Watkins apologises for Brighton absence before £50m Saudi move

Unai Emery has confirmed Ollie Watkins is leaving Aston Villa for Al Hilal in a £50m deal, revealing the England striker personally apologised for his absence during the 4-0 opening-day defeat to Brighton before the two shared an emotional goodbye.

Watkins had been conspicuously absent from Villa’s Premier League opener, with Emery saying at the time he could “only answer by silence” when asked about the striker’s non-appearance. Speaking on Friday, however, the Villa head coach offered a warmer account of how the situation was resolved.

“Last week, we didn’t get a deal to finish playing the match against Brighton but he told us after the match that he was sorry and he told us he made a mistake and was wrong,” Emery said. “We accepted it and the players did as well because he always had very good behaviour with me. For me, he’s a fantastic guy, even more so than as a player. I told him ‘bye’ with a huge hug and a small cry.”

Villa have moved quickly to replace Watkins, agreeing a deal to sign Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. Emery indicated the Senegal international could be available to make his debut against Premier League champions Arsenal on Monday night.

The departure of Watkins is the latest in a significant summer exodus at Villa Park. Emery has now lost six players who started last season’s Europa League final, with Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne also leaving the club.

Despite the scale of the rebuild, Emery insisted he remains confident Villa can remain competitive. “It’s not changing our priorities to be competitive. We must be the same. Strong development with the players,” he said. “The players we are signing are good players. We need to get balance with experience and players with huge potential.”

The Villa manager acknowledged the difficulty of losing key figures from a successful side but drew on past experience to frame the situation as manageable. “I accept it because I have experience before in the same situation,” he said. “I expect to continue to do special and different ways. The objective is to get progressively in the same way. We will need time.”