Aston Villa agree £51.7m deal with Al-Hilal for Ollie Watkins transfer | OneFootball

Aston Villa have reached an agreement for the transfer of striker Ollie Watkins to Al-Hilal on a permanent basis.

According to X user @brhH_5, an agreement has been finalised for the England international to move to Riyadh.

Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano further revealed that the transfer is set to cost the Saudi giants a total of £51.7 million. They will pay an initial £50 million, with £1.7 million to be paid in add-ons.

The Saudi outfit have finally secured their target, having pursued the striker for a number of weeks.

They had multiple bids turned down by Villa, with the last one being £45 million.

Watkins had a clear desire to join Al-Hilal this summer, having agreed to personal terms well before a transfer fee was agreed upon.

His position caused the Premier League club to soften their stance, which initially was that the striker was not for sale this summer.

They then began to work on a replacement, holding talks for Jean-Philippe Mateta and Christian Kofane, among other options.

Watkins made himself unavailable for Villa’s first league game of the 2026-27 season, a 4-0 humbling at Brighton & Hove Albion.

He returned to training days later and apologised to his teammates for his behaviour, but it was clear where his head was at, by this point.

He will now join former West Ham man Crysencio Summerville in moving from an English side to Al-Hilal this summer.

Villa have secured a replacement, with reports stating that they have an agreement in place to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.

The Senegal international will be a good fit to replace Watkins, who enjoyed a hugely memorable stint at Villa Park.

The Englishman scored 108 goals in 280 appearances in six years at the club, helping them to win the UEFA Europa League last season.

He follows in the footsteps of fellow English striker Ivan Toney, who swapped the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League in 2024.