Unai Emery Warns Aston Villa of Potential Losses: Watkins and Martinez at Risk

Unai Emery has laid bare the scale of Aston Villa’s summer storm, confirming the club has received formal bids for Europa League hero Ollie Watkins and conceding that Emi Martinez could yet follow him out of the door.

The manager didn’t dress it up. He couldn’t.

“We have an issue with him, it's clear. He is our player. We have had offers for him, I don't want to sell him,” Emery said when pressed on Watkins’ future, before adding the line that will chill Villa supporters: “But it can change.”

Watkins, now 30, has become the face of Villa’s modern resurgence. Five goals and two assists in their Europa League triumph, 108 goals in claret and blue since arriving from Brentford in 2020, and a presence that has defined Emery’s attack. No wonder Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal have moved him to the top of their shopping list.

Emery’s stance is firm but pragmatic. Villa will not be bullied, but they will listen.

“If it's a good option for him and the club and I can replace him in the squad, this is the routine we have and we did before with the players who are leaving,” he said, spelling out the reality of a club that must constantly trade to grow.

Squad Torn Apart

Watkins’ possible exit would not be an isolated loss. It would be another heavy piece torn from a team that only two months ago lifted a European trophy.

• Ezri Konsa has already gone, sold to Arsenal for £51 million.
• Morgan Rogers followed, prised away by Chelsea for a British record £117 million fee.
• Youri Tielemans has moved on.
• Lucas Digne too.

One by one, pillars of Emery’s side have been stripped away.

The pattern is brutal. The squad that conquered Europe is being dismantled at speed, and the transfer window still has around 10 days to run.

Emery is trying to hold the line, but he knows how this works.

“With Ollie, he is here, for me he is a fantastic striker, we have always believed in him,” he said. “Now he is our player, there are 10 days more or less to finish the transfer window, we will see what happens, I'm happy with him, if he is staying with us he will continue playing his level.

“If he leaving it's because it is good for three ways, one is him, another is the club and another is the team.”

Every word is measured. Every word hints at the possibility of goodbye.

Martinez Future Also In Doubt

The turbulence is not confined to the forward line. Behind them, the World Cup winner who has so often bailed Villa out is also edging toward the exit.

Emi Martinez, the emotional heartbeat of this team, saw a move to Juventus collapse over the fee. The deal died, but the desire for a new challenge did not.

“Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career,” Emery revealed. “Even last year, he was thinking in case he can have one possibility to change for his challenges.”

That admission explains why Villa have already moved decisively in the market. Japan international Zion Suzuki has arrived from Parma for £30 million, not as a prospect, but as a live contender.

“We have two excellent goalkeepers, of course we signed Suzuki not for the future but for now,” Emery said. “He showed his capacity to get his performance to our level. He will need to adapt to us but he is playing at this level.”

Emery didn’t hide the recurring nature of Martinez’s restlessness.

“He didn't do it last year and he performed fantastic with us. This year, again, he transmitted us the possibility to have another challenge and we decided to sign Suzuki because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper.”

The message is clear: Villa are braced. If Martinez goes this time, they believe they are covered. At least on paper.

Half A Team Gone?

Strip it all back and the numbers are stark. If both Watkins and Martinez leave before the deadline, Villa will have cashed in on more than half of the starting XI that delivered the Europa League title.

That is not a refresh. That is a rebuild under live fire.

The recruitment team now walks a tightrope. They must replace goals, leadership, experience and personality in a matter of days, all while Villa step into a Premier League season that offers no sympathy and no time to settle.

There is no soft launch either. Emery’s side begin their campaign away to Brighton on Sunday, with the noise around Watkins, the uncertainty over Martinez and the shadow of big-money departures hanging over the dressing room.

Villa have spent the past two years climbing back into Europe and into relevance. The next 10 days will decide whether this summer becomes a painful reset or the moment they prove they can sell big, survive the exodus and still swing with the giants.