Exclusive: Aston Villa make Ollie Watkins transfer decision, new price tag revealed
Aston Villa plan on letting Ollie Watkins depart in the summer as they continue plans to rebuild their attack, sources have told Football Insider.
Unai Emery’s side are likely to accept a reduced fee of around £30million for the 30-year-old striker, who has made 27 Premier League appearances for the club this season.
Villa have been open to offers in the past two windows, but their desire to sell the forward is now stronger.
The Birmingham outfit hope to replace Watkins with a younger and pacer option, who can get behind defences, with the hope that he can complement Tammy Abraham.
In January 2025, Villa rejected a £45m bid for the striker from Arsenal. However, their valuation of the striker has decreased over the past 12 months.
Can Aston Villa survive without Ollie Watkins?
Watkins has certainly dropped off this season compared to his previous heights.
While the striker has netted eight goals in the Premier League this season, many of these came in a brief period in what was a purple patch for the England international.
In recent weeks, it is clear that this has come to an end, with Watkins now on a run of six matches without a goal in all competitions.
Against Wolves, his lack of form was there for all to see, with the striker proving to be ineffective against the Premier League’s bottom side.
Ollie Watkins became the first Aston Villa player to score in five consecutive Premier League games #OnThisDay in 2023 😍#AVFC pic.twitter.com/K4bGmQKfXJ https://t.co/6DelEhJ9a5
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) February 25, 2026
With Abraham coming back to Villa, there is every chance that the former Chelsea star may be given the nod going forward, especially considering he has already netted since his winter move.
- Read more: ‘Ollie Watkins finished at Aston Villa’ as fans explode at what he did vs Wolves: ‘He makes me sick’
Can Tammy Abraham be Aston Villa’s main striker going forward?
While Abraham may not be young anymore, with the striker set to turn 29 years old later this year, he has plenty of qualities that show that he could become Emery’s main man.
Already, he has multiple stunning attacking stats since his return to the Premier League, including an average of 0.63 goals, 3.13 shots, and 1.25 shots on target per 90 minutes, according to Fotmob on 28 February.
On top of this, per game, he is averaging 1.88 chances created and 8.75 touches in the opposition box.
| Tammy Abraham’s Premier League stats this season | Per 90 minutes |
| Goals | 0.63 |
| xG | 0.62 |
| Shots | 3.13 |
| Shots on target | 1.25 |
| Chances created | 1.88 |
| Touches in opposition box | 8.75 |
Therefore, it is becoming clear that Abraham could be a massive asset at Villa and could easily lead the line if he is given the nod by Emery.
However, it remains to be seen what the manager’s plans are if Watkins is to depart this summer.