Watkins seals £50m Al Hilal move 'with a heavy heart' after six years at Villa

Ollie Watkins has completed a £50m move to Al Hilal on a three-year deal, ending a six-year tenure at Aston Villa that saw him become the club’s record Premier League scorer with 91 top-flight goals.

The England international’s departure was confirmed on Sunday and makes him the sixth first-team regular to leave Villa Park this summer, following Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Martinez and Lucas Digne. His absence from the squad was already conspicuous in last weekend’s 4-0 Premier League opening-day defeat at Brighton.

In a video message posted to Instagram, Watkins paid tribute to Villa supporters while acknowledging the circumstances of his exit. “Firstly, I’d like to say never did I intend, nor did I imagine my time at Aston Villa would end this way,” he said. “With that being said I’m eternally grateful for the last six years. Not only has it shaped me as a player, but as a person.”

Watkins cited the 7-2 win over Liverpool, European nights at Villa Park and last season’s Europa League triumph in Istanbul among the highlights of his time at the club, and thanked all three of his managers there — Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery. “It’s time for a new chapter that I’m excited about. However, I close this chapter with a heavy heart. Villa will always mean so much to me.”

In a farewell statement, Villa described Watkins as “capable of scoring different types of goals with a ruthless streak, allied to a selfless work ethic,” and wished him well.

The scale of Villa’s summer rebuild has left manager Unai Emery under pressure to integrate a largely new squad at pace. Arrivals including Nicolas Jackson, Leon Goretzka, Johan Manzambi and Alejandro Garnacho have yet to fully settle, and Emery acknowledged there is no grace period. “In football, if you are expecting transition, maybe you are not in the right way,” he said. “We must compete, we must win. We have to rebuild the team as fast as possible.”

Villa host champions Arsenal at Villa Park on Monday in what will be an early test of how quickly that rebuilding process can take hold.