Exeter City to Use Ollie Watkins’ Transfer Funds for Long-Term Stability

Exeter City have moved quickly to reassure supporters that any windfall from Ollie Watkins’ move to Al-Hilal will go straight into safeguarding the club’s future, not short-term spending.

Watkins completed a £51m switch from Aston Villa to the Saudi Arabian side on Sunday, a move that immediately sparked interest back in Devon. Exeter, now in League Two, nurtured the striker from the age of 11 and inserted a sell-on clause when he left St James Park, so they stand to benefit financially from his latest transfer.

In a statement on their website, the club confirmed they expect to receive money from that clause but stressed that key details are still to come. They are “awaiting further details” on the exact amount and the payment schedule, and warned fans not to expect a quick cash injection.

“We do not know how long this (payment) process will take to conclude, but we do not anticipate receiving any sum before the end of the current transfer window,” the statement read. The club also flagged that, depending on the terms, the money might arrive in stages: “Subject to the terms agreed, it is also possible that payments will be in instalments over a number of years.”

What Exeter did make crystal clear was their intention for the funds. “We can assure supporters that any sum received will be used to protect and strengthen the long-term security of the club,” they said, underlining a strategy built on stability rather than a spending spree.

Watkins’ story is woven into that strategy. He joined the Grecians’ academy in 2007, broke into the first team in 2014 after signing his first professional deal, and then climbed the divisions to become a Premier League and England forward. Under Fifa’s solidarity payment mechanism, a portion of any transfer fee is also distributed to clubs involved in a player’s development between the ages of 12 and 23, giving Exeter another route to benefit from the move.

That money would arrive at a club that has been walking a financial tightrope. Last season, Exeter made staff redundant and required around £600,000 in loans from their owners, the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust, just to keep going.

Now, as Watkins embarks on a new chapter in Saudi Arabia, his latest move could quietly reshape the financial landscape at the club where it all began. The question is no longer whether Exeter will get paid – it’s how much, when it lands, and how far it can carry a supporter-owned club determined to stand on its own feet.