Aston Villa Appoint Unai Emery
Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery from Villarreal as the club’s new Head Coach. It’s been reported that Villa paid Villarreal an alleged release clause of around €6m.
The ex-Arsenal manager took the Gunners to a Europa League final, although he ultimately had the difficult task to follow in the footsteps of Arsène Wenger, a transition that was going to need patience from their board and fanbase.
No one can question the manager’s European success though, having recently led Villarreal to Europa League success in beating Manchester United in the 2021 final, as well as reaching the Champions League last season. This of course follows a successful triple of successive Europa League wins with Sevilla between 2013-16.
While Emery also picked up a Ligue 1 championship with Paris Saint Germain, along with several cups, it will be the profile of his achievements in Spain, that would have attracted the Villa owners the most. Essentially, punching up with teams outside Spain’s top three dynasty. Then of course, he has his year-and-a-half of Premier League experience with Arsenal too, that means he is no stranger to English football.
For MOMS money, if you’re looking to ultimately get Villa winning silverware again, then he’s a better pick, then say, Mauricio Pochettino. The ex-Spurs boss seemed to come up short when Spurs had potential history defining moments under him. Coming third in a two-horse title race with Leicester City, certainly stands out.
Thanks to Brexit, Villa will have to wait until November 1st for his work permit formalities to be completed, so his first game will be against Manchester United at Villa Park on November 6th.
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