Emery wants Watkins stay; Duran exit 'good news'

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said he does not want Ollie Watkins to leave the club amid interest from Arsenal, but said if Jhon Durán completes his move to Al Nassr then it is "good news" for the club as it shows they are doing the right things in terms of developing players.

Emery was speaking after Aston Villa secured their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League following a 4-2 win over Celtic. A hat trick from Morgan Rogers and another from Watkins saw Villa take eighth place in the standings, and therefore avoid a playoff.

However, the evening was dominated by talk of Villa's two strikers.

Sources told ESPN just hours before kick-off that Arsenal had a bid rejected for Watkins, while The Athletic reported at the start of the match that Duran was set for a medical with Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr ahead of a move in the region of €77 million ($80m).

When asked about Arsenal's interest in Watkins, Emery said: "I don't want [him to leave]. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad. Every player can be in the market in case it's good for the player, club and team, but to get this deal, we have to be very demanding as well. Ollie Watkins is our striker."

Watkins impressed against Celtic, scoring what proved to be the winner in the 60th minute but then missed a penalty a minute later, as he lost his footing and ballooned the effort over the bar.

Despite that setback, he was a frequent threat in front of goal and could've had another couple but for a pair of sensational saves from Kasper Schmeichel.

All the while Duran watched on from the bench. Duran was seen in the tunnel post-match seemingly saying goodbye to some staff and players.

When asked post-match about Duran's future, Emery said: "The club is working, we have to be intelligent and competitive. Of course, we are in the eyes of other strong teams and strong leagues and countries like Saudi Arabia.

"It is something I can feel proud of because we are improving and we are having players interested from other clubs and paying good money for us.

"Our objective here is to keep our structure intelligently, and [maintaining our level] for a long time is the most difficult challenge we have. Sometimes to do that, we have to sell players, but as well, trying to change those players with good players as well, trying to develop the players here and improving ours.

"I don't know exactly until everything is done if Jhon Duran is leaving or not. If he leaves, it's good news for us, because they are paying good money, because it's good for him, because as well, we have developed a young player in two years to get this offer.

"It's not only for the club, but it's for the players, and the team -- these circumstances can be positive. I don't know if he's leaving or not."

When asked if Duran had asked to leave, Emery said: "If he's leaving, it's because he wants to. I told you last week I wanted him here. But what does he want? We are all different people."

Emery added: "My opinion about him, he's a fantastic player, fantastic potential. I was close with him, trying to work with him in his development. They have their goals, ambitions and if he's leaving, it's because he wants to go another way in his career."