Aston Villa Risk Losing Watkins, Martinez And Ordonez All At Once On Deadline Day

Aston Villa are attempting to fund one deal by selling their best player, while simultaneously fielding interest in their goalkeeper and losing a defensive target to the very club they are trying to buy from. It is a lot for one deadline day, and it suggests a squad being reshaped under financial pressure rather than strengthened from a position of comfort.

At the centre of it all is a proposed swap of strikers with Crystal Palace, a goalkeeper situation complicated by a new signing, and a defensive pursuit that has been hijacked by Palace themselves. The Guardian's transfer rumours column laid out the mechanics of Villa's plan, and the picture that emerges is of a club scrambling to hold its spine together while trying to rebuild it at the same time.

Villa's domino effect: Watkins out, Mateta in?

Villa have made Crystal Palace an offer for Jean-Philippe Mateta, but according to the Guardian it is "a long way off what the London club would like" as reported by the Guardian. Palace are reluctant sellers of a striker who has been central to their recent Premier League form, and the gap between the two clubs' valuations looks significant with only days left before the window shuts.

Watkins departure described as a shock inside the club

The deal that could fund a Mateta move is the one nobody at Villa saw coming. Ollie Watkins, the club's talismanic striker, is reportedly closing in on a move to Saudi club Al-Hilal worth around £59.8m, with an annual salary in the region of £12m the Guardian reports. The Guardian describes the move as one that "has shocked" Villa internally, underlining that this is not a sale the club initiated so much as one they are now trying to manage.

The irony is stark. Villa's leading goalscorer leaving for Saudi Arabia would hand them the funds to chase a replacement from a direct Premier League rival, but only if Palace's asking price softens. Until it does, Villa are effectively selling first and hoping the buying half of the equation follows.

The Martínez situation: Chelsea circle as Suzuki arrives

Villa's uncertainty is not confined to attack. Chelsea have made contact with representatives for goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, with BBC Sport reporting that the 33-year-old Argentina international is "considered available for a potential transfer" following Villa's signing of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki. The Guardian separately confirmed Chelsea are in talks with Martínez's camp after the goalkeeper was offered to the club according to the Guardian.

Why Suzuki's arrival changes the calculus

Signing Suzuki was framed as bringing in competition for Martínez, but it now reads as preparation for his exit. A goalkeeper who has been Villa's No 1 for years, and a serial trophy winner with Villa, Arsenal and Argentina, suddenly finds himself surplus if Chelsea's interest firms up.

• Martínez: 33, long-serving Villa captain figure, now the subject of Chelsea contact
• Suzuki: newly signed from Japan, initially pitched as competition
• Outcome: Villa's goalkeeping hierarchy now looks unsettled rather than strengthened

Palace's power play: hijacking Villa on Ordonez

While Villa try to prise a striker away from Crystal Palace, Palace are doing the reverse in defence. BBC Sport reports that Palace are attempting to hijack Villa's move for Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez, the Ecuador international who played at this summer's World Cup.

Villa's Plan B unravelling in real time

Villa only turned to Ordonez after failing to agree a fee with Southampton for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, according to the same BBC report. That makes Ordonez a fallback target rather than a first-choice pursuit, and having Palace muscle in now threatens to leave Villa without either centre-back. It is a reminder that Villa's problems this deadline day run through every area of the pitch, not just attack and goal.

How this fits the wider deadline-day market

Villa's chaos is unfolding against a backdrop of eye-catching fees elsewhere that help explain why valuations are holding firm. Liam Delap is set to break Nottingham Forest's transfer record in a move from Chelsea worth an expected £50m, despite scoring just one Premier League goal in 2025-26 per the Guardian. That fee, agreed for a player hampered by shoulder and hamstring problems, shows clubs are still willing to pay heavily for potential.

Marmoush and the inflated market for proven forwards

Manchester City have also agreed a loan-to-buy deal sending Omar Marmoush to Tottenham, with an initial £50m obligation to buy once the loan ends, on a four-year contract with a further year's option as reported by the Guardian. With Spurs' summer spend now closing in on £400m, and Forest smashing their own record for a misfiring striker, Palace have every incentive to hold out for a fee closer to Watkins-level money for Mateta rather than accept an early lowball offer from Villa.

What happens next

The next 48 hours will determine whether Villa's gamble pays off or leaves them worse off across three positions. If the Watkins sale to Al-Hilal completes at the reported £59.8m, Villa will have the funds to move closer to Palace's valuation of Mateta, but there is no guarantee Palace will budge before the deadline.

Martínez's future may hinge on how seriously Chelsea pursue him now they have made contact, while Villa's defensive rebuild depends on fending off Palace for Ordonez or returning to Southampton for Harwood-Bellis at a workable price. None of these deals exist in isolation, and how they resolve will shape whether Villa enter the new season stronger or simply different.

Expect fevered reporting through to Monday's deadline as all four situations, Mateta, Watkins, Martínez and Ordonez, move in tandem rather than sequence.