Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım has explained their concrete efforts to sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa prior to his move to Al-Hilal in the summer window.
The striker spent six years at Aston Villa, after joining them from Brentford in 2020. His rise and development at Villa Park saw him make a debut for England in 2021.
Watkins managed 108 goals and 47 assists from 278 matches for the Villans. This has 21 goals and five assists from last season, where Unai Emery’s side won the Europa League.
Player and Aston Villa rejected move
The 30-year-old’s form for the Premier League side saw him attract interest from Turkey and the Middle East. In the end, he moved to Al-Hilal, after refusing to join the Istanbul club.
On Sunday, Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım spoke about the club’s summer business during their annual general meeting. A Bola have relayed his comments, where he talks about missing out on Ollie Watkins.
In July, Sport Witness covered a report from Turkey that explained the Yellow Canaries wanted to push until the end to sign him. Fast forward to September and Yıldırım confirms this report.
He further adds Fenerbahçe vice-president Cihan Kamer and sporting director Oğuz Çetin made a trip to England, where they held talks with both Aston Villa and Watkins.
“They say they didn’t sign the players coach İsmail [Kartal] wanted. İsmail told me as well; we spoke when he returned that night. I’m a man who speaks his mind; I say exactly what I think,” he said.
“He says, ‘Is Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa? We didn’t sign him’. Cihan Kamer, Hasan Çetinkaya and Oğuz Çetin went to England; they spoke to the club, the player and his agent.”
“The player says, ‘I won’t come to Turkey’, and the club says, ‘We won’t sell him’. We’ll give you whatever you want, but they say the answer is ‘no’. We spent 1–1.5 months trying. In the end, it didn’t work out. On the final day [on August 30th], he went to Saudi Arabia for €60m and a very high salary.”
| Statistic | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Club | Aston Villa | Aston Villa |
| Appearances | 54 | 55 |
| Minutes | 3,582 | 3,837 |
| Goals | 17 | 21 |
| Assists | 14 | 5 |
| Goals + assists | 31 | 26 |
| Minutes per goal | 211 | 183 |
No concern at all for Aston Villa
The Villa Park club sold the frontman to Al-Hilal for €60m on August 30th. The move saw them collect a hefty fee for a player who will turn 31 years of age in December.
Ollie Watkins, on the other hand, is earning a lucrative salary of reportedly €15-17m net per year in Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear whether Fenerbahçe would have come close to what he’s currently earning.
Both Unai Emery’s side and the player are not missing out from a financial point of view after rejecting the Turkish club.
