Unai Emery hinted heavily that Ollie Watkins had been reluctant to play for Aston Villa as they were hammered by Brighton amid interest in the striker from Al-Hilal.Villa say they have rejected four offers from the Saudi Pro League club for Watkins, the latest of which is thought to be around £34million, a price the Premier League side will not sell at.The England striker was not included in the squad for Villa’s 4-0 defeat even though the club’s only other forwards, Brian Madjo and Tammy Abraham, are out injured.As far as Villa are concerned, it is understood Watkins is neither ill nor injured. However, he is not thought to have trained fully last week. Watkins representative has been contacted for comment.On Watkins’ position, Emery answered: ‘This question is for him. I can answer only with my silence.’Asked whether Watkins was refusing to play, Emery said: ‘I think you can call him, you can call his agent and he can respond.’ Did he feel let down by Watkins, who has improved greatly under Emery? ‘He can only explain his answer, I can’t. We had two strikers injured and another striker – it’s his answer.’In one of their worst performances under Emery, new-look Villa were torn apart by Brighton, with Joao Gomes sent off on his Premier League debut for the club as the home side went 4-0 up in just over half an hour. Ollie Watkins has been the subject of four bids from Al-Hilal this month Unai Emery refused to elaborate on Watkins’ future after he was left out of the squad beaten 4-0 by BrightonDue largely to UEFA financial rules, Villa have sold about £250million worth of talent this summer. Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have all departed, and Watkins and Emi Martinez (another absentee here) could follow. All six were mainstays of the Villa team who beat Freiburg 3-0 in May to lift the Europa League.Villa have often struggled when the transfer window is open and Emery joked: ‘I think the transfer window should always be closed.‘In the last three years, until the transfer window closes, we have had problems like we are having now. The players have the mentality I want – not complaining, not blaming, and trying to be patient, even with results like today.‘We have had this problem (with the window) every season and we overcame it. But it’s something hard for us every year.’Brighton have also lost key men and there are doubts about the futures of Yankuba Minteh, who boss Fabian Hurzeler says has an ankle injury, and Carlos Baleba. The pair are wanted by Liverpool and Manchester United respectively and did not feature.Brighton were four up inside 31 minutes thanks to Victor Lindelof’s own-goal, Maxim De Cuyper’s tap-in and a rapid double from Jack Hinshelwood.Hurzeler added: ‘The red card was another game changer and we played a mature second half, as it’s not that easy to find a good balance when you’re one man up. I was very happy with our performance.‘Minteh has an issue with his ankle and he’s an important player for us but we saw today we were able to replace him. It’s important we don’t rely on one player.’ends