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Done dealUpdated 19:32 UK · 31 Aug

Ollie Watkins to Al Hilal
£51.7m deal ends six years at Villa

Aston VillaAston VillaAl HilalAl HilalFee€58mReliability100%
The story so far
  1. 30 Aug
    Move confirmed
    Aston Villa and Watkins announced the transfer, with the striker posting a farewell message and the club confirming the deal was complete.
  2. 28 Aug
    Medical held
    Watkins travelled to Riyadh and underwent his medical at Al Hilal ahead of the transfer being finalised.

The move in full

Aston Villa's all-time leading Premier League scorer has left the club after six years, sealing a £51.7m move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

Ollie Watkins has completed a move to Al Hilal, ending six years at Aston Villa in a transfer confirmed on Sunday. Villa have received £51.7m for their record Premier League goalscorer — reported as £50m plus £1.7m in add-ons, worth around €58.4m — with the 30-year-old signing a three-year contract in Saudi Arabia. Watkins marked the move with a farewell message on social media, thanking fans for 'six amazing years', while the club released a statement praising his 'selfless work ethic' during his time there. He travelled to Riyadh in the days before the deal was finalised and underwent a medical at Al Hilal on 28 August, with the transfer announced two days later.

Al Hilal moved for Watkins as a replacement for Karim Benzema, whose contract was terminated by mutual consent only six months after he joined the club as a free agent. Manager Simone Inzaghi said he and the club's sporting staff had been watching Watkins since last season, adding: 'He possesses high qualities... I admire his skills and his style of play.' Watkins had made his desire to move to Saudi Arabia clear, with personal terms agreed well before Villa and Al Hilal settled on a fee. His pace, movement and pressing have long made him one of the Premier League's most reliable centre-forwards, and Inzaghi is now planning to build his attack around him.

Villa lose the club's all-time leading Premier League scorer. Watkins overtook Gabriel Agbonlahor's record when he scored his 75th top-flight goal for the club in May, and he leaves with 91 in the league and 108 in all competitions from 278 appearances since joining from Brentford for around £28m in 2020. He was central to Villa's run to Europa League glory last season, scoring in the 3-0 final win over Freiburg. His exit followed a difficult start to the new campaign — Watkins made himself unavailable for the opening-day 4-0 defeat at Brighton, then apologised to teammates. Manager Unai Emery said afterwards: 'He made a mistake. He always had good behaviour in the club and with me. He's a fantastic guy.'

Watkins was still Villa's leading scorer in his final season, with 16 Premier League goals and 21 in all competitions from 55 appearances in 2025-26. It was another campaign in which he reached double figures in the league, underlining the consistency that made him a fixture for both Villa and England during his time at the club. That scoring record, allied to his all-round work rate, is what convinced Al Hilal to make him one of the most expensive signings in Saudi Pro League history.

Villa moved quickly to cover the gap up front, agreeing a club-record deal reported to be worth up to £65m for Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson as a like-for-like replacement in Unai Emery's forward line. At Al Hilal, Watkins is expected to work his way into Inzaghi's attack once he has settled in, with the club also assessing defender Hassan Tambakti in training as Inzaghi shapes his squad for the Asian Champions League and Saudi Pro League fixtures ahead.

What it does to the model

Villa go into the new season without the player who has provided their biggest share of goals and chances created for several years, so their attacking output is one to watch closely as Nicolas Jackson beds in. Al Hilal, in turn, add a proven Premier League finisher to their forward line under Simone Inzaghi. Bawler's ratings are built from what actually happens on the pitch, so both teams' numbers will shift as the new season's matches provide fresh data with the new-look attacks in place.

How this is scored100%
  • Announced by the clubs100

A sourcing score, not a chance of completion: it grades how solid the reporting behind the move is. The stage and the evidence come from the sources listed below; the arithmetic is fixed in code, the same for every deal.

Sources

Related: Al Hilal team page · All transfersAl Hilal — every match prediction

Where this move lands

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