Ollie Watkins Faces Uncertain Future at Aston Villa Amid Transfer Speculation

Ollie Watkins could be the next big name out of Aston Villa, with Unai Emery conceding he cannot guarantee the striker will stay at the club.

The England international is being chased hard by Al-Hilal, and Emery confirmed that formal offers are already on the table. Villa have already lost Ezri Konsa to Arsenal for £51m and Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for a staggering £117m, while Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have also departed in a summer of upheaval.

Emery is desperate to keep his No.9. He also knows how this business works.

"We have an issue with him, it's clear. He is our player. We have had offers for him," Emery said. "I don't want to sell him 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 and we did before with the players who are leaving."

Watkins, 30, has been the heartbeat of Villa’s attack since arriving from Brentford for £28m in 2020. He has scored 108 goals for the club and stands as their record Premier League scorer, the reference point for Emery’s high-energy, front-foot side.

The coach made no attempt to hide how highly he rates him.

"With Ollie, he is here, for me he is a fantastic striker, we have always believed in him," Emery said. "Now he is our player, there are 10 days more or less to finish the transfer window, we will see what happens, I'm happy with him, if he is staying with us he will continue playing his level.

"If he leaving it's because it is good for three ways, one is him, another is the club and another is the team."

The stakes are obvious. If Watkins goes, and if Emi Martinez follows him out of the door, Villa will have sold six members of the starting XI that lifted the Europa League just two months ago. A title-winning core, broken up in a single window.

For now, Martinez remains a Villa player after his proposed move to Juventus collapsed when the clubs failed to agree a fee. Villa have already moved to protect themselves in goal, paying £30m to bring in Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma as their new No.1.

Martinez will not feature in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brighton. The Argentina international has had only one training session since returning from his post-World Cup break, leaving Suzuki to step straight into the spotlight.

Emery insists he is comfortable with the shift.

"We have two excellent goalkeepers, of course we signed Suzuki not for the future but for now. He showed his capacity to get his performance to our level. He will need to adapt to us but he is playing at this level," he said.

Martinez, though, has clearly been contemplating a new chapter.

"Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career," Emery explained. "Even last year, he was thinking in case he can have one possibility to change for his challenges.

"He didn't do it last year and he performed fantastic with us. This year, again, he transmitted us the possibility to have another challenge and we decided to sign Suzuki because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper."

Villa stand on the edge of a decisive 10 days. The Europa League winners could emerge with a reshaped spine, a new goalkeeper in Suzuki, and a future without their record Premier League scorer.

Or Watkins stays, the exodus slows, and Emery gets one more season with the striker who has defined his Villa attack.