England Lionesses hero has face painted over as Aston Villa remove trace of Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez

THERE’S no room for sentiment at Aston Villa as a mural depicting Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez has been hastily painted over. The mural near The Holte End of Villa Park has now officially been removed. How the mural featuring Ollie Watkins, Rachel Daly and Emiliano Martinez used to look outside of Villa Park Credit: Alamy But now the stunning artwork is being completely covered The mural was originally painted onto a wall near the iconic stand in 2024, with Ollie Watkins, Emi Martinez and women’s player Rachel Daly. Watkins has departed for Saudi Arabia and Martinez has moved on to Chelsea. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! But Daly, 34, is still very much playing for Aston Villa’s women’s side. It appears as though she is collateral damage as Watkins and Martinez had to go. But who knows, maybe she’ll be painted on the next one? Daly, MBE, has been with Villa since 2022 and has scored 63 times during her time in the Midlands. She has a seriously decorated career that features representing Great Britain at the Olympics, collecting a runners-up medal for England at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and, of course, winning the 2022 Women’s Euros. Watkins had also been a great servant to Aston Villa, scoring 108 goals in six seasons. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK And this is what the paint over job looks like now However, given he turns 31 in December, Villa cashed in to the tune of £51 million. Martinez had looked like he was going to depart Villa Park last summer, but no deal ended up materialising. This time Chelsea stepped in and bagged the 2022 World Cup winner for a paltry £7.5 million. Comment now