Al-Hilal clinch Ollie Watkins deal - England star becomes second-most expensive 30+ striker ever

Aston Villa's summer exodus has shown no sign of stopping, with the club's all-time top Premier League goalscorer Ollie Watkins completing a move to Al-Hilal. The Saudi Pro League club announced the signing of the England striker in a deal worth €58 million plus €2m in add-ons, with the player penning a three-year contract. He has a current market value of just €25m.

To replace him, Villa have once again turned to Chelsea by spending €75.8m to sign striker Nicolas Jackson. They have already brought in Alejandro Garnacho from the West London club, as well as selling them Morgan Rogers in a club-record sale. Villa are also using some of the funds to finalise a move for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, with a deal worth €29.2m + €5.8m in add-ons close to being completed.

Watkins was left out of Villa's squad for their opening weekend drubbing at Brighton amid his push for a move to the Riyadh-based side. The striker subsequently returned to training and apologised to team-mates on Monday. Villa had remained keen to keep Watkins at the club, though he has rejected previous informal contract offers. Villa’s most recent contract offer was an extension until 2030, with his existing terms set to expire in 2028. The sale of Watkins represents a sizeable profit for Villa and also makes the England international the second-most expensive striker, aged 30 or older, in the history of the game.

As illustrated in the graphic above, only Watkins' international teammate Harry Kane will have switched club for a higher fee among strikers in their 30s, after he moved from Tottenham to Bayern Munich for €95m in 2023. Watkins would move past the likes of Robert Lewandowski (€45m to Barcelona aged 33) and Gabriel Batistuta (€36m to Roma aged 31). Watkins has scored 108 goals in 278 matches for Villa since moving from Brentford for €34m in 2020.