England striker Ollie Watkins leaves Aston Villa to move to Saudi Arabia for $69M

England striker Ollie Watkins leaves Aston Villa to move to Saudi Arabia for $69M | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle and Aston Villa at St. James' Park in Newcastle, England, Aug. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano, File)

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — England striker Ollie Watkins joined the list of high-profile departures from Aston Villa on Sunday when he completed a move to Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal for a reported 51 million pounds ($69 million).

The 30-year-old Watkins has been at Villa since joining from Brentford in 2020 and reached double figures in goals every season he was at the club.

In a post on Instagram published Sunday, Watkins wrote: “6 amazing years has come to an end.

“Thank you for the amazing memories and always supporting me through highs and lows. Saying goodbye is never easy to this club as it’s been a massive part of my life on and off the pitch.”

Villa has also sold Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Emiliano Martinez, who joined Chelsea on Sunday, in this transfer window.

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