Aston Villa are close to an agreement to sign striker Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £65m which will allow Villa to sell Ollie Watkins.

There is a broad agreement between the clubs over the terms of a move for the 25-year-old Jackson, with Chelsea set to achieve their asking price with an initial sum of £47.5m with £17.5m in add-ons.

If the Senegal international agrees personal terms and completes the switch to Villa, his arrival is expected to trigger England international Watkins’ move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

A deal worth about £51m will see the 30-year-old leave Villa Park, having joined the club from Brentford in 2020 and become their record Premier League goalscorer with 108 top-flight goals.

Villa had been preparing to sell Watkins but needed to replace him before sanctioning a move. He missed Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton with boss Unai Emery saying it was up to him and his agent to explain why.

The Jackson move remains subject to personal terms being agreed, but negotiations are at an advanced stage, with Jackson expected to reunite with Unai Emery having played under the Villa boss at Spanish club Villarreal.

He would become the latest player in Villa’s summer rebuild following the arrivals of record buy Johan Manzambi, midfielder Joao Gomes, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and defender Matteo Ruggeri.

However, there has also been significant movement out of the club and Watkins leaving would mean they had sold five of the starting XI who won the Europa League in May.

Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have already left with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez expected to depart too.

Chelsea are weighing up a move for the Argentine, who is now deemed surplus to requirements after Suzuki joined from Parma.

In signing Jackson, Villa would be getting a forward who joined Chelsea from Villarreal for £35m in 2023 and scored 30 goals in 81 appearances.

His most recent appearance for the Blues came against Fluminense in the Club World Cup in 2025, while he also won the Conference League with the club.

He spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, scoring 11 times in 34 games and helping them win the Bundesliga.

Chelsea banked a £14.3m loan fee from the move, though an obligation to buy for £56.2m was not triggered after Jackson failed to make 40 appearances of 45 minutes or more.