Aston Villa were thumped 4-0 at Brighton on Sunday in their opening game of the Premier League season, with manager Unai Emery rattled throughout by uncertainty over forward Ollie Watkins, who is wanted by Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
Brighton raced into a 4-0 lead inside 31 minutes at the Amex Stadium. Victor Lindelof turned Maxim De Cuyper's shot into his own net in the eighth minute, De Cuyper added a second in the 18th, and Jack Hinshelwood scored twice in the space of a minute, in the 30th and 31st minutes. Villa midfielder Joao Gomes was sent off on his Premier League debut for a kick at Brighton's Georginio Rutter.
There was a crumb of comfort for Villa fans in the history books. The last time the club were hammered on the opening day of a Premier League season, a 5-1 defeat at Newcastle United three years ago, they went on to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.
Emery's tense pre-match mood
Emery's mood had turned sour even before kick-off. When Sky Sports reporter Johnny Phillips asked him about Watkins' absence from the squad, the Spaniard stared ahead in silence for two seconds before replying with a single word: "Silence."
It echoed an incident a year ago, when Emery, asked about Emiliano Martinez's efforts to leave the club, responded only by repeating the name of Martinez's deputy, Marco Bizot. Villa lost 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace that day. At Brighton, Emery appeared agitated with the home coaching staff at half-time and walked straight down the tunnel at full-time without shaking hands with Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler.
Emery is known to become distracted when the transfer window is open, though something shifted even in the 11 days since Villa lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, Austria, a game before and after which he had appeared relaxed and even made jokes.
Watkins and the Al-Hilal interest
Neither of Villa's other senior forwards, Tammy Abraham and Brian Madjo, was available at Brighton because of injury, leaving Emery without recognised cover regardless. Watkins had not trained with the squad in the week before the match, though he is understood to be neither ill nor injured; his representatives have been contacted for comment.
Villa are expected to sell Watkins if they can secure a replacement of similar quality, and Al-Hilal are said to be reasonably confident of signing him. Emery admires Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson and discreet talks have taken place, though any deal is complicated.
Under UEFA rules, a transfer between two clubs is treated as a "swap" if both deals are completed within 45 days of each other, which would prevent either club from booking the full profit on their accounts. Morgan Rogers signed for Chelsea, in a £117million deal, 41 days before the September 1 transfer deadline, meaning any Jackson deal involving Chelsea could fall foul of that rule and make it harder for both clubs to meet UEFA's spending regulations.
Villa have already sold around £250million worth of players this summer, also losing Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and Ezri Konsa to Arsenal, moves Emery has had time to accept. Brighton, too, have lost key players, with Jan Paul van Hecke and Danny Welbeck departing and James Milner retiring, while Carlos Baleba is expected to join Manchester United and Yankuba Minteh, who did not play at the weekend, is being chased by Liverpool.
Villa's leadership problem
Gomes was booked early and committed further rash fouls, prompting Emery to signal for him to calm down, but none of his team-mates intervened. Moments before his red card, Gomes had been seen punching the turf in frustration after giving the ball away for Brighton's fourth goal.
Ian Maatsen, a strong attacking full-back but weaker defensively, struggled as Brighton repeatedly sent long diagonal balls towards Diego Gomez, who won the ball in the air and outjumped Maatsen to set up Hinshelwood's third goal. With Konsa sold to Arsenal, Villa's central defence lacked pace, and Rutter had a dominant afternoon against Lindelof and Pau Torres.
Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Club Brugge's Joel Ordonez have been mentioned as possible targets, while former Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka is regarded as a smart potential free transfer.
Pressure on Villa's transfer chief
This is the second transfer window overseen by Villa's sporting director, Roberto Olabe, who has taken a more prominent role in negotiations than in January. Emery made no substitutions until the 75th minute despite his side's heavy defeat, a decision seen as a pointed message to the club's hierarchy over transfer business.
Villa are also seeking back-up for Matty Cash at right-back, additional midfield options, a wide player and a striker. The future of goalkeeper Martinez remains unresolved; he wants to leave but no club has yet met Villa's valuation. Villa's next Premier League fixture is at home to Arsenal on August 31.
