Why Aston Villa are set for Ollie Watkins heartbreak as Fenerbahce close in

Aston Villa now look set to lose Ollie Watkins as Fenerbahce have reportedly agreed a multi-year contract with the striker.

The 30-year-old is currently focused on helping England put the second star on their shirt at this summer's World Cup, but all the while talk of his potential Villa Park exit has rumbled.

Fresh off the back of a 16-goal Premier League campaign in 2025-26, Watkins doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Despite his critics at times last term, Watkins' 21 goals in all competitions was his second-highest return in a single season for Aston Villa, only bettered by the 27 he scored in 2023-24.

His 108 strikes in 280 total appearances for the Villans has cemented his place as a modern-day hero among supporters, and when it is eventually time to say goodbye, it will hurt.

But, that time may be approaching faster than many fans would like, as the Englishman has now reportedly moved a big step closer to sealing his switch to Turkey.

What Ollie Watkins wages are likely to be at Fenerbahce

Speculation linking Watkins with a move to Turkish giants Fenerbahce has intensified in recent days, and now the heat has been turned up by another few degrees.

A report from Turkish news outlet Sabah on Tuesday is claiming that Fenerbahce have come to an agreement in principle with Watkins over the framework of his contract.

The report states that Watkins has approved of a three-year contract, and that he is set to earn €9million euros/£7.6m pounds as his annual salary there.

Watkins is said to have signed off on the structure of his Fenerbahce contract, and now all that remains is for the two clubs to reach an agreement regarding his transfer fee.

Sabah's report claims that Fenerbahce are looking to strike a deal in the region of €25m/£21.3m, but that Villa could be looking for around €35m/£29m.

Why he's not a guaranteed starter for Fenerbahce

Given his profile of scoring consistently high volumes of Premier League goals, many may presume that should Watkins sign for Fenerbahce, he would walk into a starring role there.

That probably wouldn't be the case, however, as Ismail Kartal has some very good striking options at his disposal that Watkins would find tough to get ahead of in the pecking order.

Fenerbahce have just signed experienced centre-forward Vedat Muriqi from Mallorca, with the 32-year-old having scored 23 times in 37 La Liga games last season.

In addition to him, they also have 27-year-old forward Kerem Akturkoglu, who netted 15 times and chipped in with 10 assists in all competitions last term.

Sidiki Cherif is a 19-year-old striker Fenerbahce rate highly as well, and he provided four goal contributions in 16 games for them in 2025-26.

Therefore, whilst Watkins will no doubt expect to receive a big role if he was to join Fenerbahce, he may just be in for a bit of a surprise.