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Emery resigned to Duran exit, urges Aston Villa to keep Watkins

Emery resigned to Duran exit, urges Aston Villa to keep Watkins

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The futures of both Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins are up in the air after reported transfer bids, which overshadowed Aston Villa's win.

Unai Emery appeared resigned to the potential exit of Jhon Duran but insisted he did not want to sell Ollie Watkins, amid questions over both of their futures.

Aston Villa sealed an automatic spot in the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to their 4-2 win over Celtic on Wednesday, finishing eighth in the table.

However, ahead of kick-off, several British media outlets reported Premier League title chasers Arsenal had put in a bid for Watkins, while further stories emerged during the match that Duran was closing in on a January move to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Watkins went on to score a decisive third goal, his first in the Champions League, before missing a penalty against Celtic, with Morgan Rogers' hat-trick helping them through.

Duran, however, was not in the starting line-up and did not come on as rumours of his potential exit continued to swirl, and Emery did not face questions about the result following the game.

"I don't want [to sell Watkins]," Emery told reporters. "It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad.

"Every player can be in the market if it is good for the player and the club. To get this deal we are going to be demanding. Watkins is our striker.

"If he [Duran] leaves it's good news for us because they're paying good money and we developed him in two years.

"A fantastic young player, I was always trying to help him with my advice. But the player has the objective and ambition and if he leaves it is because he prefers to go another way in his career."

This was Emery's 61st Champions League match as manager, going into outright third place for matches among Spanish managers ahead of Vicente del Bosque (60). Only Pep Guardiola (179) and Rafael Benitez (95) have managed more.

Meanwhile, Rogers (22y 187d) became the second-youngest Englishman to score a hat-trick in the Champions League after Wayne Rooney against Fenerbahce in September 2004 (18y 340d). He also became the first player in the competition's history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a game.

Villa have reached the last 16 of the European Cup/Champions League for just the third time in their history after 1981-82 and 1982-83, the latter of which was their last appearance in Europe's premier club competitions before this season.

And Emery expressed his frustration at the timing of these stories on Villa's big night as they sealed an impressive end to the league phase.

"We have a lot of speculation around the players in the squad but they're showing us they are mature and responsible with these performances," Emery added.

"We are very proud of our work this year. The Premier League is very difficult to get into the Champions League because there are a lot of strong teams who are contenders.

"But it's very important how we got here, from where we started."

Emery resigned to Duran exit, urges Aston Villa to keep Watkins

The futures of both Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins are up in the air after reported transfer bids, which overshadowed Aston Villa's win.

Unai Emery appeared resigned to the potential exit of Jhon Duran but insisted he did not want to sell Ollie Watkins, amid questions over both of their futures.

Aston Villa sealed an automatic spot in the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to their 4-2 win over Celtic on Wednesday, finishing eighth in the table.

However, ahead of kick-off, several British media outlets reported Premier League title chasers Arsenal had put in a bid for Watkins, while further stories emerged during the match that Duran was closing in on a January move to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Watkins went on to score a decisive third goal, his first in the Champions League, before missing a penalty against Celtic, with Morgan Rogers' hat-trick helping them through.

Duran, however, was not in the starting line-up and did not come on as rumours of his potential exit continued to swirl, and Emery did not face questions about the result following the game.

"I don't want [to sell Watkins]," Emery told reporters. "It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad.

"Every player can be in the market if it is good for the player and the club. To get this deal we are going to be demanding. Watkins is our striker.

"If he [Duran] leaves it's good news for us because they're paying good money and we developed him in two years.

"A fantastic young player, I was always trying to help him with my advice. But the player has the objective and ambition and if he leaves it is because he prefers to go another way in his career."

This was Emery's 61st Champions League match as manager, going into outright third place for matches among Spanish managers ahead of Vicente del Bosque (60). Only Pep Guardiola (179) and Rafael Benitez (95) have managed more.

Meanwhile, Rogers (22y 187d) became the second-youngest Englishman to score a hat-trick in the Champions League after Wayne Rooney against Fenerbahce in September 2004 (18y 340d). He also became the first player in the competition's history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a game.

Villa have reached the last 16 of the European Cup/Champions League for just the third time in their history after 1981-82 and 1982-83, the latter of which was their last appearance in Europe's premier club competitions before this season.

And Emery expressed his frustration at the timing of these stories on Villa's big night as they sealed an impressive end to the league phase.

"We have a lot of speculation around the players in the squad but they're showing us they are mature and responsible with these performances," Emery added.

"We are very proud of our work this year. The Premier League is very difficult to get into the Champions League because there are a lot of strong teams who are contenders.

"But it's very important how we got here, from where we started."

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