Emery: Watkins could leave Aston Villa before transfer deadline
Unai Emery said on 21 August 2026 that striker Ollie Watkins could leave Aston Villa before the transfer deadline, admitting the forward might depart Villa Park.
Watkins scored 21 goals last season as Villa won the Europa League and has 108 goals for the club since joining from Brentford for £28m in 2020; he is the club's record Premier League scorer. Several other members of last season's starting XI have already moved on this summer: Ezri Konsa to Arsenal for £51m, Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for a club-record £117m, while Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne have also left.
Emery confirmed there have been offers for Watkins and acknowledged the club faces a decision over the England international. "We have an issue with him, it's clear. He is our player. We have had offers for him," said Emery. "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."
On Watkins' present status and the remaining window, Emery reiterated his view of the striker and the timeframe for any move. "With Ollie, he is here, for me he is a fantastic striker, we have always believed in him. 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."
A potential departure for Watkins would follow other high-profile exits as Villa reshape the squad, and goalkeeper Emi Martinez has also been linked with leaving. Martinez's proposed move to Juventus collapsed after the clubs failed to agree a fee and Villa signed Japan international Zion Suzuki from Parma for £30m as their new No.1; Martinez will not be in the squad for Sunday's Premier League opener at Brighton because he has only had one training session after returning from a post-World Cup break.
Emery defended the Suzuki signing and described Villa's goalkeeping situation in direct terms. "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 added: "Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career. 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."
If Watkins and Martinez both depart, Villa will have sold six members of the starting XI that won the Europa League two months ago, leaving Emery to finalise further changes before the transfer window closes and ahead of the Premier League opener at Brighton on Sunday.
