Al Hilal are in talks with Aston Villa over a potential deal for England international Ollie Watkins.
Aston Villa have already rejected an offer of £38 million from Al Hilal for their striker. However, negotiations between the two clubs are still ongoing.
The Saudi club are interested in signing Watkins as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who has scored 10 goals in 15 appearances.
The Frenchman has been at Al Hilal since February, when he joined the club on an 18-month deal from Al Ittihad.
However, Benzema’s future remains uncertain, with Al Hilal now attempting to resolve the former Real Madrid star’s contract situation to allow him to leave.
Watkins has emerged as the ideal replacement for Benzema after establishing himself as one of Aston Villa and the Premier League’s most consistent strikers.
Ollie Watkins’ consistency attracts Al Hilal
Watkins’ consistency over the years is probably his most attractive quality to other clubs, including Al Hilal.
Since making his debut for Brentford in 2017/18, the striker has scored at least 10 goals in every season at both Brentford and Aston Villa.
In three seasons and 143 appearances with the Bees, Watkins scored 49 goals and provided 16 assists.
During his final season in West London, he achieved a career-high 25 goals in all competitions.
The England international then joined Aston Villa in September 2020 for a reported £33 million fee, including add-ons.
He has since made 278 appearances for the Villans, scoring 108 goals and providing 47 assists.
Watkins’ best season at Aston Villa came in 2023/24, when he scored 24 goals in all competitions.
He followed that up with another strong campaign in 2025/26, scoring 21 goals across all competitions. He was also the fourth-highest scorer in the Premier League with 16 goals, behind Erling Haaland (27), Igor Thiago (22) and Antoine Semenyo (17).
Watkins also played a key role in Aston Villa’s UEFA Europa League triumph, adding European silverware to his resume.
After another impressive season at Aston Villa, the 30-year-old was called up to England’s 2026 World Cup squad, where the Three Lions won the bronze medal after beating France.
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Another blow for Aston Villa
Should Watkins move to Al Hilal this summer, it would be another huge blow for Aston Villa.
The Birmingham side have already lost two key players in Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans to Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively.
Furthermore, new signing Joao Gomes and 17-year-old Brian Madjo might have impressed during pre-season, but both are now injured and have joined Amadou Onana and fellow new signing Johan Manzambi on the sidelines.
With the 2026/27 Premier League season just days away, Unai Emery has quite the task ahead of him to keep Aston Villa competing for UEFA Champions League football.
Aston Villa, who finished fourth last season, begin their new campaign away to Brighton at the American Express Stadium on Sunday, August 23, at 14:00 BST.
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