Unai Emery has made Aston Villa's striker situation feel more open than it did a day ago. Nicolas Jackson is close to joining Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £65m, while Ollie Watkins no longer sounds completely settled in the background.

Emery's comments on Watkins

Emery said Villa “have an issue with him” and added that the club have “had offers for him”. He also said Watkins is still Villa’s player and that he does not want to sell him, but his wording left room for a sale if it suits the player, the club and the squad.

That is a clearer opening than Villa usually give when a key forward is supposed to be staying put. Emery went on to say Watkins has “transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career”, which is the sort of line clubs do not normally use unless the door has at least been unlatched.

Why Jackson fits the move

The fee explains why this has moved from noise to a serious deal. BBC says the package is structured as an initial £47.5m plus £17.5m in add-ons, and Jackson would reunite with Emery, under whom he played at Atletico Madrid during his time at Villarreal.

His Chelsea record is mixed, but not thin. Jackson scored 30 goals in 81 appearances for Chelsea, then spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, where he scored 11 goals in 34 games. That is not the profile of a finished article, but it is enough to explain why Villa are willing to pay serious money for him.

BBC also reported that Jackson's most recent Chelsea appearance came against Fluminense in the 2025 Club World Cup, while Metro said he has agreed personal terms and could sign a six-year contract that runs until 2032. The fee itself is being described in different ways across outlets, but the broad picture is the same: Villa are working on a major striker move, not a speculative one.

With roughly ten days left in the transfer window, Emery has already linked Watkins' future to the sort of routine Villa have used before when players are moving on. If Jackson arrives and Watkins goes, Villa will not just be adding a forward. They will be changing the shape of the attack before the deadline arrives.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →