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Watkins scores on Saudi Pro League debut

From Ghanaian Times · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Outcome reported
  • Ollie Watkins scored four minutes from time on his Al-Hilal debut in a 3-0 win over Al-Ahli.
  • The 30-year-old joined Al-Hilal from Aston Villa for £51 million last week and entered the match at halftime.
  • The victory restored Al-Hilal to the top of the Saudi Pro League after four straight wins.

Ollie Watkins opened his Al-Hilal account on his Saudi Pro League debut, heading Sultan Mandash’s cross in at the back post four minutes before the final whistle. Al-Hilal beat Al-Ahli 3-0 and returned to the top of the league with maximum points from their first four games.

The 30-year-old completed a £51 million move from Aston Villa last week. Manager Simone Inzaghi named him among the substitutes, then sent him on at halftime after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Crysencio Summerville had put Al-Hilal ahead in the first half.

small tears

· Unai EmeryThe Aston Villa manager described his emotional reaction to Watkins’s departure.

Watkins joined Aston Villa from Brentford in 2020 and scored at least 10 goals in each of his six seasons there. He became the club’s leading Premier League scorer and helped Villa win the Europa League last season.

fantastic

· Unai EmeryEmery used the word when saying goodbye to Watkins.

Villa manager Unai Emery said he had “small tears” while saying goodbye to the “fantastic” forward. Watkins was one of several players to leave Villa during the summer, alongside Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Emiliano Martinez.

Exeter City said it expects to receive a sell-on payment from the transfer. Under FIFA’s solidarity payment mechanism, clubs that trained and developed a player between the ages of 12 and 23 receive a share of the transfer fee. Exeter said any money from the deal would “be used to protect and strengthen the long-term security of the club”.

be used to protect and strengthen the long-term security of the club

· Exeter CityThe club explained how it planned to use any sell-on payment from Watkins’s transfer.
About this summary

Originally published by Ghanaian Times. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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