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BackAl-Hilal sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa for £51m as Roma add De Roon and Balerdi
Al-Hilal sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa for £51m as Roma add De Roon and Balerdi
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Guardian Sport1 hour agoSports1 min readUnited Kingdom

Al-Hilal sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa for £51m as Roma add De Roon and Balerdi

ollie watkinsaston villaal-hilal

Quick Look

  • Al-Hilal have signed Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa for a reported £51m, ending his six-year spell at the club where he became their top Premier League scorer.
  • Watkins, 30, scored 21 goals last season and signed a three-year deal.
  • Meanwhile, Roma have strengthened their Serie A squad by signing Atalanta captain Marten De Roon and Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Ollie Watkins joined Aston Villa from Brentford in 2020 for £28m and became their top Premier League scorer. Marten De Roon spent two spells at Atalanta over a decade, becoming their captain.

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Al-Hilal have signed Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, ⁠the two clubs announced on Sunday, as the 30-year-old striker ended a successful ⁠six-year spell with ⁠the ​Midlands club where he became their top scorer in the Premier League. The England international, who had ​two years left on ‌his Villa contract, has moved for a reported £51m.

Watkins ‌signed a three-year contract as Al-Hilal acquired ‌a proven goalscorer after he scored 21 goals in all competitions last season, including five goals in the Europa League as he helped deliver a European trophy to Unai Emery’s side.

However, an ‌exit was on the cards before the transfer window closed, with Emery revealing the ​striker had apologised for making himself unavailable for the club’s Premier League opener, a 4-0 defeat at Brighton.

Watkins scored 91 Premier League goals for Villa and 108 ⁠in all competitions since arriving from Brentford for £28m in ​2020. The striker is among ​a string of departures from Villa ​in the ​close season following ​the ​exits of key players such as Morgan Rogers and Emi Martinez to Chelsea – the latter moving on Sunday – Ezri Konsa to Arsenal and Youri Tielemans to Manchester United.

Roma have stepped up their Serie A challenge with the acquisition of two captains, midfielder Marten De Roon coming over from Atalanta and centre-back Leonardo Balerdi joining from Marseille. The 35-year-old De Roon evolved into Atalanta’s skipper after a decade spent in Bergamo over two spells. He will reunite with Roma’s manager Gian Piero Gasperini, who formerly coached him at Atalanta.

Open Questions

  • What is the exact transfer fee for Watkins?
  • Will De Roon and Balerdi start regularly for Roma?
  • How will Watkins adapt to the Saudi Pro League?

Related Topics

ollie watkins
PeopleOllie WatkinsUnai EmeryMarten De RoonLeonardo Balerdi
OrganizationsAl-HilalAston VillaRomaAtalanta
PlacesBrightonBergamo
Topicsaston villaal-hilalmarten de roonleonardo balerdiromapremier league
This article was originally published by Guardian Sport.

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