Why Aston Villa have fresh Ollie Watkins hope thanks to Fenerbahce
Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins may not be bound for Turkey this summer after all.
Whilst Villa fans await confirmation of their first signing of the summer window in Johan Manzambi, most of the talk has been around Villa Park exits.
Indeed, Youri Tielemans has just completed his £35million move to Manchester United, whilst Emi Martinez and Morgan Rogers' futures have been under major scrutiny as well.
Watkins has also been touted with a move away from Aston Villa this summer, with Fenerbahce being widely linked with the 30-year-old.
Scoring 16 goals in 37 Premier League games last season, losing the experienced and much-loved striker would be a massive blow to Unai Emery's squad.
However, that may now not be a scenario that the Villa Park faithful need to fear any longer.
Why Fenerbahce are ready to throw in the Ollie Watkins towel
This 'will he, won't he?' Watkins saga has been threatening to run right through until the end of this summer's window
Although, it had recently appeared as though he was all set to leave the West Midlands for a new challenge in Turkish football.
Villa News had covered reports from Turkey last week claiming Watkins had agreed contract terms with Fenerbahce.
But, a fresh report from Turkish news outlet Sabah has now delivered a conflicting update on the highly-touted transfer.
They claim that Fenerbahce have failed in their attempt to move their deal for Watkins forward, and are now looking in a different direction.
Manchester United's Marcus Rashford is said to be the new target in their sights, thus seemingly ending their pursuit of Watkins.
With Fenerbahce now looking as though they're out of the race for Watkins, would a transfer there have been a match made in heaven for him?
Why Watkins would've scored a hatful at Fenerbahce
One of the biggest teams in Turkish football, Fenerbahce have been enduring a frustrating time of things lately.
They've finished second in the Turkish Super Lig for the last five-straight seasons, with their last league title win coming in the 2013-14 campaign.
Despite that, they have been a consistently potent side in attack, and one that Watkins would no doubt have been licking his lips at the prospect of playing in.
Fenerbahce scored a joint-highest 77 goals in the Super Lig in 2025-26, averaging 2.3 goals per game.
As per FotMob, they led the Turkish top flight with their 6.3 shots on target per game average, whilst also creating 107 big chances and took 939 touches in the opposition box respectively.
They were also far and away the team who won the most corners last term, with Samsunspor's 193 being the closest side to Fenerbahce's 235, but they did only come second for set-piece goals scored with 14.
So, the potential for Watkins to score bags of goals in this Fenerbahce system is obvious, but now he looks set to remain with Aston Villa for the time being.