‘Huge Amount Of Money’ – Club’s Move For Aston Villa Star ‘Isn’t Progressing’ | OneFootball

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Fenerbahce’s efforts to take Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins to Turkey are not progressing as things stand.

Watkins has been linked with a move away from Aston Villa for some time, with Arsenal making their first serious push to sign the striker during the 2025 January transfer window.

The move eventually did not go through, but Manchester United revived their pursuit during the summer of 2025, only for the Villains to stand firm on their ‘not for sale’ stance.

The 30-year-old has once again attracted transfer interest this summer, with Turkish giants Fenerbahce emerging as admirers of the striker as they search for a new hitman following Vedat Muriqi’s injury.

Fenerbahce have held a belief that a deal for Watkins is possible and it was claimed in Turkey that Aston Villa are prepared to sell.

It was recently suggested that Fenerbahce were stepping up their pursuit of Watkins, having faced disappointment in the pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, and club officials ‘will travel to England’ to hold talks with Aston Villa and the striker’s agent.

There appears to be an issue though as, according to Turkish journalist Sercan Hamzaoglu, the deal to sign Watkins ‘isn’t progressing’ at the moment.

Aston Villa appear to be having second thoughts as they feel replacing Watkins this summer would be far from easy, complicating Fenerbahce’s pursuit.

Watkins is also on a ‘huge amount of money’ at Villa Park, detailed as £10m plus gross, while there are also bonuses attached to his deal.

As such, the deal has gone cold, although there remains the possibility the Turkish side could make a huge offer to test Aston Villa.

Fenerbahce are actively working in the market to sign a top-quality striker this summer and have kept the 30-year-old ‘as an alternative’ to Guirassy.

Aston Villa already have work to do in the market and signing a Watkins’ replacement is not something they want adding to the list.

Elsewhere, Juventus continue to explore a move for Emiliano Martinez this summer, with Juventus CEO and chief football officer Damien Comolli having held talks with an intermediary representing the Aston Villa goalkeeper.