Unai Emery on Ollie Watkins' Apology and Aston Villa's Transition

Unai Emery says Ollie Watkins apologised to the Aston Villa squad for refusing to play on Sunday – and admitted their farewell ended in tears.

Watkins, Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer, is set to complete a £51m move to Al-Hilal, drawing a line under a four-year spell that transformed both player and club. The 30-year-old is expected in Saudi Arabia on Friday, while Villa move quickly to close a £65m deal for Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson as his replacement.

The rupture came at the weekend. Watkins made himself unavailable for the game against Brighton, a decision that cut across the standards Emery has drilled into the dressing room. The response was swift, but so was the contrition.

“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,” Emery said.

The Spaniard chose not to linger on the fallout. Instead, he leaned into what Watkins has meant to Villa. Signed from Brentford for £28m in 2020, the England striker hit 91 Premier League goals and 108 in all competitions, numbers that helped drag the club from mid-table uncertainty into the Champions League places.

“His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic,” Emery said. “He’s a fantastic guy – a fantastic guy even more than a player. I told him ‘bye’ with a huge hug and with small tears.”

It was a reminder that this is not just a big-money exit. It is the end of an era. Watkins became the face of Villa’s resurgence, the constant presence through managerial changes, tactical shifts and the club’s rise back into Europe’s elite.

Now the baton passes.

“But now it’s a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson,” Emery added, drawing a clear line between the emotion of the goodbye and the urgency of what comes next.

Villa lose their most prolific Premier League finisher. They gain a 23-year-old forward with pace, power and a point to prove. The question is simple and brutal: can Jackson live with the weight of the shirt Watkins leaves behind?