The Premier League graveyard: can Watkins save Al-Hilal from the hell of the third deal?
Bad memories
Ollie Watkins begins his Al Hilal adventure amid huge ambitions, the Saudi club turning to a Premier League striker to bolster their front line. Yet the deal carries a challenge that stretches beyond Watkins himself, tied to a short and eventful history of English top-flight forwards who have pulled on the Al Hilal shirt in recent years.
Al Hilal have gambled on more than one forward arriving from English pitches, and the results could hardly be more contrasting. Aleksandar Mitrovic became one of the team's most important stars. Darwin Nunez arrived from Liverpool, failed to deliver the expected impact and left on loan.
Mitrovic: the exception that raised the ceiling of expectations
Mitrovic joined Al Hilal from Fulham carrying vast experience in English football, and it took him no time at all to prove the club had made the right call.
In his first season, the Serbian produced astonishing attacking numbers, scoring 28 goals in the Roshn League to finish runner-up in the race for top scorer. He also played a prominent role as Al Hilal swept up four domestic titles during his time there.
Read also: Led by Watkins: Al Hilal marshal all their weapons for the Al Ahli clasico
That success left the door open to the idea of signing another Premier League striker. His departure in the summer of 2025, following an injury that sparked wide debate over its impact on his future, pushed Al Hilal's management to search for a new name. The choice fell on Nunez.
So began the story that has delivered Watkins amid more questions than usual. Can he repeat Mitrovic's success, or will he suffer the same fate as Nunez?
Nunez: a short experience and a heavy memory
Darwin Nunez's move to Al Hilal from Liverpool was a huge deal by every measure. Expectations soared over the Uruguayan's ability to lead the front line, especially given the reputation he had built across Europe and the English league.
Things did not go as planned. Nunez never found the consistency he needed, his impact gradually faded, and he slipped out of the plans before leaving on loan to Al Diriyah.
The picture before Watkins is now clear. Mitrovic's astonishing success sits at one end, Nunez's brief spell at the other, and between them stands the Englishman facing a completely different test: proving that arriving from the Premier League does not have to mean repeating the same scenario.
Watkins faces the curse of Premier League strikers
Here lies the problem. Fans will not see this deal as just another new name. They will compare Watkins with Mitrovic and Nunez straight away, and with Al Hilal having paid a large fee for his services, the margin for error is far smaller.
The player does possess attributes that could help him succeed. He is a striker with long experience in the English league, sharp at moving behind defenders, pressing and getting into the box. He can also thrive in an attacking system built on speed and transitions, elements that may suit the ideas of Italian coach Simone Inzaghi.
Most importantly, Watkins arrives in a very different team from the one Mitrovic or Nunez played for. He will find new attacking names around him such as Gabriel Martinelli and Crysencio Summerville, meaning greater support and less pressure to create chances on his own.
That abundance of stars, though, could prove a double-edged sword. Watkins needs to gel quickly with his teammates and grasp the way Inzaghi wants to play, because his success will not be measured by the names around him but by his ability to turn all that quality into goals.
Watkins does not simply arrive to replace a departed name. He walks into a club that carries a complete story about Premier League strikers. Mitrovic left a heavy legacy of numbers and titles, Nunez left an unfinished chapter, and now it is the Englishman's turn to write the third himself.
Will Watkins be the man who breaks the curse of Premier League strikers at Al Hilal and recreates Mitrovic's success, or will he meet Nunez's fate? The goals, and the goals alone, will write the answer on the pitch.
