Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has signed a new contract at Red Bull until the end of 2030.

The move should end speculation about the Dutchman’s future at the end of this season, after he had been linked with potential moves to Mercedes or McLaren.

Verstappen was previously contracted to the end of 2028, but there were clauses in his contract that would have allowed him to leave at the end of the current Formula One season had he wanted.

“We have the best people and I’m excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again,” said Verstappen, 28.

“This remains the ultimate goal that all of us have been working towards and will continue to pursue.

“I have always said it: the team is like a second family for me and I feel very at home.

“I came to the team hoping to be able to win races. What we went on to achieve together has been simply lovely and we have shared many incredible moments and won four World Championships.

“To continue this journey with the same team that I have been with my whole career is really special and something I have always wanted to do.”

More to follow.

Aston Villa had been aware of Al Hilal’s admiration for Ollie Watkins for some time.

When reports in Saudi Arabia started to surface last week, it came as no surprise.

The impression from multiple sources was that Villa’s greatest Premier League goalscorer would stay, owing to a huge summer of change in which long-standing team-mates have already departed.

The other unknown was whether any interested suitor would stump up enough money to convince Villa otherwise.

Led by the wishes of manager Unai Emery, who wants Watkins to stay, Villa are insistent they intend to keep the forward.

Yet, even though the sense is he will remain, there is trepidation. In short, every player has a price. Villa sources have repeatedly asserted Watkins is being fully relied on this season.

The 30-year-old England international returned for pre-season last Sunday, with Emery granting those who lasted the full duration at the World Cup four weeks off, in the belief they would remain fresh and end the season in better stead.

To discuss Watkins’ future, past links to Arsenal and Manchester United, plus what an exit would mean for Villa, The Athletic spoke to various sources attached to Villa, other clubs and close to the player who were granted anonymity to protect relationships.

Where would a Watkins exit leave Villa?

Regardless of Watkins’ attempts to return early, the three players whose pre-season was shortened are connected.

Emiliano Martinez’s future is also uncertain while Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Ezri Konsa worth £51million ($69.4m) plus add-ons. He will undergo a medical today (Thursday).

Martinez had long wanted to leave and Villa, over the weekend, decided they could do without the ongoing dramatics. They pushed ahead for a deal for Parma’s Zion Suzuki, only for Martinez’s move to Juventus to be kiboshed by the Serie A club. Martinez returned to Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground on Tuesday, with the Premier League club now helping the 33-year-old goalkeeper find a new destination elsewhere.

Arsenal have agreed a deal for Ezri Konsa (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

The trio represent the team’s spine and solid foundations on which Emery’s Villa have been built — all in central positions, all becoming seasoned internationals under Emery and now a symbol of Villa’s summer of change.

As is Emery’s way, Villa had their list of target areas to address: both full-back positions and a winger. Best-laid plans often pivot depending on Emery’s rationale and if players leave.

Discreetly, Villa wished to bring in a centre-forward, provided they found a buyer for Tammy Abraham. Emery and Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson have remained in dialogue since their time together at Villarreal, and the feeling was Villa would push again for the 25-year-old.

How is Watkins viewed at Villa?

Watkins is among Villa’s greatest Premier League players.

His exit would carry a huge emotional pull, having been integral to the past three years of unparalleled success. Since 2022-23, he has never scored fewer than 15 goals in a top-flight season.

Last term, despite a poor start, he ultimately stood up when it mattered. Watkins became a Europa League champion as Villa beat Freiburg in the Istanbul final and wrote his name in club folklore.

His professionalism, attitude and warmth are some of the reasons he has been hugely popular with supporters and Emery’s Spanish contingent of staff.

Whether it is through asking for additional one-on-one practice after training or how he handles himself generally, he was described to The Athletic last summer by a senior figure as an “English gentleman”.

There have been other occasions where Watkins has carried injuries into games and played through the pain barrier. He does not do a lot outside the sport, not wanting to waste energy or time on too much else. His priority is being the best day-to-day version of himself as a footballer.

Ollie Watkins led Aston Villa to gloy in the Europa League last season (Ozan Kose / AFP via Getty Images)

However, while not as blatantly as Martinez, Watkins’ future has regularly been unclear. Villa rejected a £40million ($54m at current exchange rates) offer from Arsenal, made in six instalments, in January 2024, before Manchester United showed interest six months later. United then decided to turn their attention to signing Benjamin Sesko instead.

What are Watkins’ options? Who has been interested? What about a new contract?

Heading into this summer, Watkins was open-minded about his future, according to sources close to the player.

He was going into the World Cup, where he would be firmly behind Harry Kane in the strikers’ pecking order for England — Watkins played just seven minutes during the tournament — but was assessing his options in club football.

There were few options better than Villa, especially with the sense he had missed the boat for a move elsewhere in the Premier League. Yet, with the state of change at Villa and entering into the final two years of his contract — he signed fresh terms in October 2023 — Watkins wanted to be open to all possibilities. He has rejected previous contract offers, but Villa have made a new one and hope the latest offer progresses.

Fenerbahce were strong on pushing for Watkins earlier in the summer. According to a source close to the situation, Fenerbahce reached out to a third-party intermediary to see if Villa would be receptive.

Al Hilal’s interest, though, was long-standing. As part of their new English contingent, which included former Bournemouth sporting director Simon Francis, they knew Watkins’ camp well.

Multiple approaches were made before Tuesday, when Al Hilal made a formal €45million ($52.5m; £38.5m) offer. Villa rejected the bid, with Watkins continuing to train, yet the Saudi Pro League club’s pursuit remains ongoing.

They believe they have encouragement from the player’s side. The move would be hugely lucrative for Watkins and, should Al Hilal increase their bid, it would give Villa a potential fee they would likely not receive elsewhere.

So what now?

Watkins scored his 100th Villa goal in April, crossing the Rubicon of Villa legends.

That was a feat not seen since Peter McParland in the early 1960s. Take out him and Morgan Rogers after his summer move to Chelsea, and 46 per cent of Villa’s league goals last season would be removed. Villa’s attacking system has been built around the duo.

According to multiple sources consulted by The Athletic, Watkins has formed part of a leadership group that polices the dressing room. He has been considered among Villa’s most professional players alongside a core of Tyrone Mings, Konsa, Matty Cash, Lucas Digne, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans. Two of them have now gone, with the futures of two more deeply uncertain.

Villa want Watkins to stay, but is the time right for the second Emery era to begin with a new figurehead leading the line? Did that night in Istanbul mark the end of the first iteration of Emery’s Villa? Would it be right or jarring to still have tinges of the past?

Those at Villa know this summer has seen major change. Perhaps more than first planned. Yet if Watkins were the next to leave, the sweeping transformation would feel very real.

A plethora of new rules designed to speed up the game and increase the amount of time the ball is in play will be rolled out in the Premier League this weekend.

Lawmakers want to see goal kicks, throw-ins and substitutions executed more quickly in the hope that fans who have purchased tickets or TV subscriptions obtain greater value for money. They also want to put a stop to goalkeepers faking injuries so their coach can call a tactical time-out, and inevitably, the scope of video assistant referees (VARs) has increased even further.

In the Premier League last season, the ball was in play for 55 minutes and 22 seconds per game on average, down 2.8 per cent from 2024-25.

Time lost through extended goal celebrations, red cards, penalties, substitutions, injuries requiring treatment and VAR checks is measured accurately by the fourth official and in the VAR room, with allowance made at the end of each half.

But refs were not asked to add on time for slow goal kicks and throw-ins unless the amount taken was so great that a yellow card resulted. That will change this season – and not before time, so to speak.

The new rules should work if applied and make more sense than stopping the clock every time the ball goes dead. Teams slow down the game to waste time, of course, but they also want to kill the tempo, especially when winning or away from home.

Whether the changes endure is another question, as similar previous initiatives have quickly run into resistance from clubs who demand greater leniency.

But the rules are written into the laws of the game, so they should sustain past September.

Goal kicks and throw-ins

• Players are expected to keep moving so these restarts happen quickly.
• As soon as the referee suspects delaying tactics, they will blow the whistle.
• The team then has five seconds to return the ball into play.
• The referee will visually count down the final five seconds with a raised hand.
• If time expires, a throw is flipped to the other team, and a goal kick becomes a corner.

The grey area here is how long the referee waits before starting the countdown. If a team is winning 1-0 and there are only a few minutes remaining, it’s easy to be tough. But how relaxed will they be if the losing goalkeeper takes a drink, dries his gloves and kicks a post before lining up a goal kick?

Some will demand consistency, others will expect common sense. Let’s see where the line is drawn, but someone will be unhappy.

Goalkeepers will have to take heed of the time they take over goal kicks (Warren Little/Getty Images)

Substitutions

• Substitutes have 10 seconds to leave the field at the nearest point.
• Time starts when the board is shown.
• The referee will visually count down the final five seconds with a raised hand.
• If time expires, the player going off must still leave the field.
• The sub must then wait for at least one minute…
• … and can only come on at a stoppage in play.

On the face of it, this is the toughest of the new rules because the referee has no leeway: the clock starts ticking from the moment the substitution board goes up.

Ten seconds may seem a reasonable allowance for a professional footballer to run halfway across a pitch, but it is a big change from previous seasons, when a typical single substitution took three times as long.

The referee’s visual countdown may prove worthless if the player trotting off has his back to the official, which will invariably be the case.

The new rule is especially punitive because the sub will have to stand on the side for one minute, then wait until the ball goes out of play before they can come on. That’s a major incentive for teams to hurry up.

There are two exemptions that clubs will no doubt seek to exploit.

Subbed players are expected to leave by the nearest point, but they will be allowed more time if they are on the far side from the technical areas and the referee agrees it is not safe for them to walk around the perimeter.

Substitutions are being more closely monitored this season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The other exception to the rule relates to injured players, who will be given as long as it takes to leave the field, which feels like a loophole so large it must be visible from the moon.

If there is more than one sub at a stoppage, the 10-second countdown begins when the fourth official displays the final two numbers on the board. There is a theoretical possibility that a team taking too long over five simultaneous substitutions could be forced to play with six for a while, which could be fun.

Injured goalkeepers

• New rule applies when medics attend to a goalkeeper on the field.
• A nominated team-mate must leave the field for one minute when play restarts.

Tactical timeouts became commonplace last year, to the exasperation of opposing teams, their fans and neutrals everywhere.

The practice has been around for a while after some clever coach realised that they could create space for a tactical rejig and pep talk if their goalkeeper demanded treatment. There was no downside because the goalie stayed on the field.

The new rule should put a stop to such nonsense, as few coaches will want to risk going down to 10 players for a whole minute.

There are caveats in the wording, which allow treatment as before if the keeper is fouled or suffers an impact injury and needs immediate attention. Blood injuries are also exempt.

Injured outfield players

• New rule applies whenever the referee stops play because a player appears to be injured, or at a stoppage, the ref calls on medical staff to assess an injury.
• If an outfield player is involved, they must leave the field for a minute.

This tweak doubles the amount of time a player is obliged to wait on the sidelines from 30 seconds to one minute.

Many clubs thought it was worth the risk of playing one short for half a minute, given the benefit of killing the game for longer than that. Hopefully, only those genuinely in need of treatment will stay down from now on.

New rules apply to injured players this season (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

VAR checks for second yellow cards

• The VAR can now check second yellow cards.
• Only factual errors can be corrected, not subjective decisions.

The mission creep of the VAR system continues.

Straight red cards have always come under its jurisdiction, so it may feel logical to add second yellows given their consequences. For now, video officials will be limited to categorical errors, such as a second caution given to a player for handball when replays prove the ball hit them in the face. Fair enough.

The risk is that expectation will build so ‘soft’ second yellows become reviewable. And what about a player whose first caution was plainly wrong, but who then receives a second?

It feels like another case of slippery slope syndrome.