Emery's silence speaks volumes as Watkins snubs Villa's 4-0 drubbing to force Al-Hilal move

Unai Emery all but confirmed that Ollie Watkins made himself unavailable for Aston Villa’s 4-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton at Villa Park on Sunday, with the England striker understood to be forcing a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal before the transfer window shuts.

Villa were dismantled inside the opening half-hour, conceding all four goals before the 31st minute and finishing the match with ten men — a chastening start to a season in which the club have already lost Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne following their Europa League triumph last term.

When pressed on whether Watkins had refused to be involved, Emery was pointed in his response. “This question is for him,” the Villa manager said. “I can answer only with my silence. I think you can call him and you can call his agent and he can respond. He can only explain his answer, I can’t.”

His meaning was made even clearer when he addressed the striker situation directly: “Two strikers are injured and another striker gives his answer.” With Brian Madjo also sidelined through injury, Emiliano Buendia was deployed as a makeshift centre-forward against a Brighton side who offered no mercy.

Al-Hilal have agreed personal terms with the 30-year-old and have had four bids rejected by Villa. Their most recent offer stood at £45 million, with reports suggesting £50 million would be sufficient for the club to sanction a sale.

Emery had been unambiguous about his own position heading into the weekend. “He is our player. We have had offers for him, I don’t want to sell him,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Friday. “But it can change because if it’s a good option for him and the club and I can replace him in the squad, this is the routine we have.”

Despite the turbulence, Emery urged calm. “This problem we had every season and every season we overcame it,” he said after the Brighton loss. “With this result, it’s more difficult to explain but calm, work, be positive and find solutions for the next week and after the transfer window.”

Villa’s rebuild now looks considerably more complicated than it did at the start of the summer, with their leading scorer from last season apparently determined to leave and no replacement yet secured.