Aston Villa want to appoint Unai Emery as manager – Guillem Balague
Aston Villa are interested in appointing Unai Emery as manager to replace Steven Gerrard, according to reliable journalist Guillem Balague.
The Villans sacked Gerrard last week after defeat to Fulham, but won their first game without him 4-0 against Brentford on Sunday afternoon under caretaker manager Aaron Danks.
But after failing in approaches to Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, and Ruben Amorim ruling out a switch to Villa Park, the club have now reportedly turned their attention to former Arsenal boss Emery.
“Emery to Aston Villa, more than just a possibility,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account [24 October].
“Villa want to pay the buyout clause.”
There is no mention of how much the release clause is, but it should be remembered that he was close to joining Newcastle last year before a last minute change of heart saw him stay in Spain instead.
Interesting
Emery would be an ambitious appointment considering his record everywhere he has been, but it does seem like a strange target.
He has won trophies at a lot of clubs, including Arsenal, but his style of play is often conducive to being the underdog in a game and Villa want to be on the front foot more often than not.
Considering the initial targets were Pochettino and Tuchel, two managers considered to be in the elite echelon and at the top of the game, it’s a bit of a backwards step.
That may be smart considering the responses from those managers and the state the club is in currently, but if tehy want an attacking manager then Emery certainly isn’t that.
It will be interesting to see which direction the club go in, but it’s certainly one to keep an eye on if Balague is saying there is something in it.
In other Aston Villa news, Ruben Amorim doesn’t want to take over at Aston Villa