Aston Villa boss Unai Emery said Ollie Watkins' absence in the 4-0 thrashing at Brighton is a "question for him".

The 30-year-old was left out of the matchday squad for Villa's Premier League opener after Emery confirmed earlier in the week there had been offers from Saudi club Al-Hilal for the striker.

Asked if it was his decision to leave Watkins out, Emery told Match of the Day: "This question is for him. You can call him and try to get his answer.

"The players here wanted to play and we had two strikers with a small injury. The question on Watkins is for him."

Watkins could become the latest of Villa's European heroes to exit this summer.

Villa ended a 30-year wait for a trophy by lifting the Europa League in May against Freiburg.

But the club could have sold six of the starting XI by the end of the transfer window.

"We are building the team. Last year and two years ago we were building the team in August," said Emery after the defeat at Brighton.

Image source, Getty Images

Here are Aston Villa's outgoings this summer:

Morgan Rogers [Aston Villa - Chelsea] £117m

Ezri Konsa [Aston Villa - Arsenal] £55m

Youri Tielemans [Aston Villa - Manchester United] £35m

Donyell Malen [Aston Villa - Roma] Undisclosed fee

Enzo Barreneche [Aston Villa - Valencia] Loan

Lewis Dobbin [Aston Villa - Southampton] £9m

Lucas Digne [Aston Villa - PSG] £8.5m

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Like many, Aston Villa are a selling club, mainly down to necessity, and have been for a number of years.

They must comply with Uefa's squad cost ratio (SCR) which restricts them to spending 70% of their football related revenue on player and staff wages, transfer fees and agent fees.

They have already been fined twice by Uefa for breaches, being hit with a £9.5m sanction last year and a £19.4m fine in June, although £12.9m was suspended after Villa came to a settlement agreement with Europe's governing body. But it has meant the club's hands are tied in the transfer window.

The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) also limited financial losses to a maximum of £105m over a rolling three-year period.

In their latest accounts, ending 30 June 2025, Villa had a post-tax profit of £17m but their two previous years showed losses of £119.6m (2023) and £85.4m (2024).

The regulations have now been replaced by SCR, meaning the Premier League falls in line with Uefa's model.

"It's necessity because of the rules," one former Villa executive told BBC Sport, when asked about the sales. "The PSR, the SCR, issues are well documented.

"It does seem slightly unfair they're having their ambition capped at this level. But it has forced this very big churn of players, which is unfortunate.

"Some will be forced due to PSR, some will be player demand. Combined it makes a big problem for Emery and certainly it is a lot to swallow in one go and to try and replace."

This summer has crystalised their situation because of the high-profile nature of the departures.

Villa had raised just over £200m with the sales of Jhon Duran (£71m), Douglas Luiz (£42.5m), Jacob Ramsey (£40m) and Moussa Diaby (£50m) over the past two years.

With the Ezri Konsa deal done, they have banked around £212m during this window, including £9m for Lewis Dobbin who never played a senior game for Villa before leaving for Southampton.

The academy has also paid its way comfortably with Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer being bought back to be sold again, while Burnley spent £12m on Aaron Ramsey in 2023.

Internally, when Villa first returned to the Champions League in 2024, it was recognised it would be harder for academy prospects to break into the squad which left Villa more open to selling them.

Image source, Getty Images

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport Chelsea reporter

Omari Kellyman remains highly regarded at Stamford Bridge, but a transfer that includes a buy-back clause is being viewed as a way to aid his development after an injury-hit period following his £19m move from Aston Villa in 2024.

The 20-year-old completed last season on loan at Cardiff City without injury, but his minutes had to be carefully managed after a series of hamstring problems since leaving Villa Park.

Strasbourg, also owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital through parent company BlueCo, are seen as a club where Kellyman can take the next step in his development after a series of setbacks.

It's the latest of more than a dozen moves between the clubs since BlueCo bought Strasbourg in 2023, a year after acquiring Chelsea.

Image source, Getty Images

Omari Kellyman has left Chelsea to join French side Strasbourg on a permanent deal.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder failed to make a Premier League appearance for the Blues after joining from Aston Villa in June 2024.

However, Chelsea have inserted a buy-back clause in the deal with the French side.

Image source, Getty Images

We've got a done deal to bring you this morning, folks.

This one's coming out of West London.

Let's take a look at some of Ollie Watkins' Premier League stats since he joined Villa in September 2020:

2020/2021 - 14 goals, five assists

2021/2022 - 11 goals, two assists

2022/2023 - 15 goals, six assists

2023/2024 - 19 goals, 15 assists

2024/2025 - 16 goals, eight assists

2025/2026 - 16 goals, three assists

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Al-Hilal, who have offered close to £40m, are not near to Aston Villa's asking price for Ollie Watkins. As next Tuesday's transfer deadline nears, Villa will play hardball for their all-time record Premier League goalscorer.

A deal is still believed to be some way off, even if Villa head coack Unai Emery revealed last week the striker could leave.

Al-Hilal, who signed Crysensio Summerville from West Ham in July, are likely to need to move one of their overseas players to make room for Watkins, despite loaning Darwin Nunez to Diriyah last week, so there are other moving parts in the deal.

Watkins has been training on his own, having returned from an extended break following the World Cup and is understood to have made his feelings clear to the Villa hierarchy about moving.

There have been no public comments from Watkins or his representatives but he is understood to be open to the move.

They have also kept quiet about Emery's response - particularly his enigmatic "silence" answer to Sky Sports' question on why his striker was not involved at Brighton, which appeared to lay the blame at Watkins' door.

Let's start with one of the more emotionally charged deals.

Could Villa's star striker Ollie Watkins be on his way out?

Your comments bring our page to life, so do write in and tell us what you're thinking.

Do you trust that your club is making good choices as deadline day looms into view?

And which deals do you think will have a big say in the course of this season's Premier League?

Join the discussion by clicking 'Get Involved' at the top of this page.

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We are one week away from transfer deadline day - so it really is crunch time.

This morning we're looking at some of the biggest ongoing stories from around the Premier League.