Aston Villa close on Jackson and Mbaye as Emery clears air with departing Watkins

<ul><li><p>Chelsea’s Jackson and PSG’s Mbaye poised to join</p></li><li><p>Saudi-bound Watkins says sorry for refusing to play</p></li></ul><p>Unai Emery said Aston Villa were embarking on a “new chapter” as he prepared to welcome Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and Paris Saint-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye in a near £100m remake of his forward line.</p><p>Villa are hopeful Jackson will complete his initial £47.5m transfer in time to make his debut at home to Arsenal on Monday and are a finalising a move for Mbaye, whose fee will also be about £47m. They needed to reshape up front after accepting a £50m bid from Al-Hilal for Ollie Watkins and are bringing in further funds by selling <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/27/chelsea-agree-deal-sign-emiliano-martinez-aston-villa-enzo-fernandez">Emiliano Martínez to Chelsea</a> for £7.5m.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/28/nicolas-jackson-nears-aston-villa-move-unai-emery-ollie-watkins">Continue reading...</a>