Ollie Watkins ‘poised to quit Aston Villa’ after behind-scenes Emery development
Ollie Watkins may force his way out of Aston Villa this summer after expressing his discontent with Unai Emery.
After starting three consecutive games on the bench, Watkins returned to the Aston Villa starting line-up against Newcastle at Villa Park on Saturday, 19 April.
The England international marked the occasion by grabbing a goal and an assist and firing the Birmingham-based club to a thumping 4-1 victory.
He thus took his goalscoring tally in the Premier League this season to 15, while also taking the man of the match award home.
Watkins ‘fuming’ after what Emery did
Speaking after the game, Watkins did not shy away from admitting that he was ‘fuming’ after Emery left him out of the line-up for both legs of Aston Villa’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie with PSG.
The 29-year-old was instrumental in the Villans reaching that stage in the European competition and was disappointed to see his spot handed to Marcus Rashford for those two big matches.
| Matches | Starts | Minutes | Goals | Assists |
| 48 | 38 | 3137′ | 16 | 13 |
He revealed that he has made his feelings clear to Emery, but insisted that he still respects the manager’s decision.
“Champions League, we have put in a lot of hard graft in the last few years to get to that position”, Watkins told Sky Sports (19 April).
“Obviously, I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games. I am not going to lie, I was fuming that I wasn’t playing.
“I let him [Emery] know that, but he’s the manager, at the end of the day and you have to respect his decision.
“I am not one of these players who is happy to sit on the bench.”
"The manager's got a bit of a headache because I'm banging on his door… I was fuming I wasn't playing against PSG!" 😅
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2025
Ollie Watkins says he hasn't shied away from letting Unai Emery know his frustrations with lack of game time at Aston Villa 👀 pic.twitter.com/CSA2ABth1r
Watkins to quit Aston Villa after Rashford treatment
It is a testament to Watkins’ character that he has not made a big deal out of not starting against PSG in both legs.
He would have hoped to be Villa’s undisputed first-choice striker after Jhon Duran was sold to Al-Nassr in the winter transfer window, but is now forced to compete with Rashford for a place in the team.
Given his contributions this season and last, the Englishman should have started in at least one of the two games against PSG, regardless of how well the Manchester United loanee played.
By snubbing Watkins, Emery has left the door open for the former Brentford ace to force his way out of Villa Park this summer.
It would not be a surprise if the striker went on to quit the Birmingham-based club, purely based on how he was treated in the Champions League tie.