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18 hours ago
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Unai Emery said Aston Villa were embarking on a “new chapter” as he welcomed the signing of Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye poised to complete a near-£100m remake of his attack.
Jackson, for whom Villa have paid an initial £47.5m, is in line to make his debut at home against Arsenal on Monday and the club are finalising a move for Mbaye, who will also cost about £47m. They needed to reshape up front after accepting a £50m bid from Al-Hilal for Ollie Watkins, and are generating more funds by selling Emiliano Martínez to Chelsea for £7.5m.
Jackson and Mbaye have been longstanding targets for the Villa manager. The 18-year-old winger Mbaye, a Senegal teammate of Jackson, was one of the preferred options to strengthen a key position. He played 24 Ligue 1 games for PSG last season, 10 from the start. In recent days, Villa pushed to sign Rafael Leão from Milan but the Portuguese winger is poised to join Galatasaray, whom Villa will visit in the Champions League.
Jackson was Emery’s No 1 target to replace Watkins, who declined the offer of a new contract in favour of a £50m move to the Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Jackson’s fee may rise to a club-record £65m with add-ons.
The striker, who spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, will reunite with Unai Emery, who coached him at Villarreal. “He’s been very important to me since the beginning,” Jackson said of Emery. “I’m very happy to be here and working for him again.”
“With the coach, I’ve known him for a long time,” Jackson told the Aston Villa website. “With him calling me and from talking to him, he explained the project to me. I like the project so much, and that’s why I’m here. Hopefully we can do a lot of things together.”
Emery said Watkins’ departure reduced him to tears and he revealed the England striker apologised to him and his teammates for refusing to play in the 4-0 defeat at Brighton last weekend, leaving 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.”
Emery said the £50m fees generated for Watkins, who will be 31 in December, and Konsa, who turns 29 in October, were “crazy” given their ages. “We don’t want to be a club to sell players, but the responsibility is to accept it … because for the club it is a good deal. It does not change our objectives.”
Emery acknowledged his side must perform much better against Arsenal than did against Brighton to avoid a second successive defeat. Leon Goretzka, who signed from Bayern Munich on Thursday, could make his debut against the champions, while Zion Suzuki could also feature for the first time after his £30m move from Parma, replacing Martínez.
“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,” said the Villa manager. “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.”
It promises to be a busy end to the window for Chelsea who, as well as closing in on Martínez, have explored a move for the Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara while they wait for Manchester City to submit their first official offer for Enzo Fernández.
City are yet to make contact with Chelsea over a deal for Fernández, who is desperate to leave before Tuesday night’s deadline. Chelsea are considering their next move and have Camara on a shortlist that also includes Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton. The Senegal international is not seen as a like-for-like replacement for Fernández but would strengthen Xabi Alonso’s midfield options if the Argentina international joins City.
Chelsea are aware of Bournemouth’s determination not to sell Scott and have received similar messages from Palace regarding Wharton, while Arsenal are understood to have knocked back an inquiry for Martín Zubimendi.
Although there have been suggestions that a deal for Fernández will be close to £106.7m, he will only be allowed to leave if Chelsea’s terms are met. Sources have warned City may have to pay more than the west London club’s initial £120m asking price for the 25-year-old.
