Unai Emery Prepares Aston Villa for New Chapter with Nicolas Jackson

Unai Emery believes Nicolas Jackson will complete his £47.5m move from Chelsea in time to walk straight into Aston Villa’s frontline against Arsenal on Monday – and he is treating the deal as the start of “a new chapter” at the club.

Jackson has been Emery’s first-choice replacement for Ollie Watkins, whose era at Villa is ending in painful, human fashion. Watkins turned down a new contract and is set for a £50m switch to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, with both transfers still awaiting formal confirmation. Jackson’s fee could climb to a club-record £65m with add-ons.

For Emery, Watkins’s departure has been emotional as well as tactical. The head coach admitted the England striker’s exit reduced him to tears and revealed Watkins apologised to him and the dressing room after refusing to play in last weekend’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton, a decision that left Villa without a recognised striker.

“I can tell you his commitment and his behaviour was fantastic always,” Emery said. “He told us after the match he was sorry and he told us that he made a mistake, that he was wrong. We accepted it, the players as well, because he always had very good behaviour and commitment with the club, with us and with me.

“For me, he is a fantastic guy, an even more fantastic a guy than a player. I told him bye with a huge hug and a small tear but now it’s a new chapter here with Nicolas Jackson. A new chapter, we replace him and of course all the best to Watkins in Saudi. With Nicolas Jackson replacing him, we are of course happy.”

Watkins leaves as a modern great at Villa Park. He is the club’s record scorer in the Premier League era, with 91 goals in 221 league appearances, and Emery was keen to protect that legacy from the fallout of his final week.

He rejected the idea that Watkins’s refusal to play at Brighton would stain his reputation among supporters. “The four years working with him have been a high-level relationship with him as a professional,” Emery added. “Last week I was a little bit disappointed. I was disappointed, but we spoke about it, and now clear. One mistake is not closing all the good things he did here. For the supporters as well. He is class, and I think it’s a legacy here.”

Attention now turns sharply to Arsenal and the champions’ visit on Monday night, with Villa needing a reaction after being dismantled at Brighton. Emery did not hide from that reality, admitting his side must raise their level quickly to avoid back-to-back defeats.

New faces could help shift the mood. Leon Goretzka, signed from Bayern Munich on Thursday, is in line for a debut against Arsenal. Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, a £30m arrival from Parma, could also feature for the first time, with Emiliano Martínez close to sealing a £7.5m move to Chelsea.

“Maybe we are not performing like we were performing but the objective is to get to the same way we did, the same performances we had,” Emery said. “We will need time. Last year we showed we needed time. On Monday we will see, [whether] we will need more time or if some players are progressing quickly.”

While Villa reshape their attack and goalkeeping department, Chelsea are braced for a frantic finish to the window. As they move towards completing the deal for Martínez, they are also working through midfield scenarios while waiting for Manchester City to make their first formal move for Enzo Fernández.

City have yet to contact Chelsea over Fernández, who is pushing to leave before Tuesday night’s deadline. Chelsea are weighing up their options and have drawn up a shortlist headed by Monaco’s Lamine Camara, alongside Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.

Camara, a Senegal international, is not viewed as a like-for-like replacement for Fernández but as a player who would bolster Xabi Alonso’s midfield options if the Argentina international heads to the Etihad.

Chelsea know any of those moves will be difficult to pull off. Bournemouth are determined not to sell Scott and have made that stance clear. Palace have sent a similar message regarding Wharton. Arsenal, for their part, are understood to have rejected an enquiry for Martín Zubimendi.

The numbers around Fernández are just as stubborn. Talk of a fee close to the £106.7m Chelsea paid for him has swirled, but the club will only sanction a sale if their conditions are met. Sources have warned that City may have to go beyond Chelsea’s initial £120m asking price to prise the 25-year-old away.

Villa, meanwhile, stand on the brink of that “new chapter” Emery keeps mentioning: Watkins gone, Jackson incoming, a rebuilt spine taking shape – and the champions arriving to test whether this reshaped side can live with the standards they set last season.