Watkins money allows Exeter to plan ahead - Taylor

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor hopes the unexpected windfall from Ollie Watkins' move to the Saudi Pro League can help the club plan for the long term.

The Grecians could earn as much as £2m from Watkins' £51m transfer from Al Hilal to Aston Villa.

Under Fifa's solidarity payment mechanism, a proportion of any transfer fee is distributed to clubs involved in training and developing a player between the ages of 12 and 23.

England striker Watkins, 30, joined Exeter's academy aged 11 in 2007 and played 99 times for the club before moving on to Brentford and then Aston Villa.

Exeter will have earned about £8m in recent years from Watkins through transfer fees, sell-on clauses and add-ons.

Exeter also sold last season's top scorer Jayden Wareham late in the transfer window to help the fan-owned club which had been forced to get loans for about £600,000 last year after an overspend in 2024-25.

"I'd like to think the club are in a stable position, where for the last 12, maybe 24 months there's been a little bit of uncertainty of money coming into the football club and what it looks like when it does come in," Taylor told BBC Radio Devon.

"With the agreement with Jayden moving on and then everyone knows what's happened with Ollie elsewhere, all of a sudden I'd like to think that the club can plan two to three years ahead as opposed to just 12 months ahead and almost surviving through those 12 months with limitations.

"I'd like to think that January will look different for this football club. I'd like to think the following window will look different for this football club.

"I'm hopeful and expecting that the club will be able to say that we are in a stable position and a much more stable position than we have been previously, and that's down to Jayden's transfer and what's happened with Ollie."

Following their relegation from League One, a host of experienced players left Exeter in the summer, including captain Pierce Sweeney and Finland winger Ilmari Niskanen.

They went on to sell Wareham, defender Johnly Yfeko and teenage striker Kieran Wilson for undisclosed fees, but did keep hold of highly regarded defender Luca Woodhouse and midfielder Reece Cole.

On deadline day, Exeter brought in Barrow striker Danny Rose on a permanent deal, while Millwall forward Ajay Matthews, Swansea City midfielder Dan Watts and Stevenage defender Jack Taylor all joined on loan.

"There were players moving out which we were still waiting for that went to the very end really," Taylor said.

"I felt we did a good bit of business in terms of experience, physicality, a bit of youth in there and a couple of players who cover different positions as well, so a bit of depth to the squad.

"The fact that Luca stayed meant we were probably a little bit stronger coming out of it than what we might have been a few hours before the end of the transfer window deadline.

"I'm pleased with the work that we've done. As always, as a manager, you want time and we never had time in terms of our recruitment process this season.

"Every time a little bit of money was even made available or came into us, we reacted off the back of that.

"The budget was the budget, and we were pretty maxed out from an early point, so only the TV money and Johnly's departure allowed us to bring a couple of players in at certain times, and then we were all waiting for obviously Jayden and one or two others to move on."