Unai Emery exit claim made at Aston Villa ahead of PSG tie
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa future was bizarrely called into question as his side prepare for a huge Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain.
Emery has transformed the West Midlands club during his time in charge to make them a genuine title threat, while also becoming a team that competes in Europe.
Villa will face PSG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which is a monumental achievement for the Premier League side, and fans are eagerly hoping to see them pull off a major upset against the Ligue 1 side.
It would be a massive result for Villa, but it would also bring a lot of attention to Emery’s coaching ability, which might result in some outside interest in jobs that are traditionally seen as ‘bigger.’
Emery’s future debated
Villa are in the middle of a new project as Aston Villa attempt to move things forward in the long term to create a team capable of fighting for the biggest prizes in the sport.
Emery is at the central focus of that, with his coaching skills having helped to transform the team to this stage, and while there might be concerns about his long-term future, Dan Bardell is not worried.
| Premier League table | Played | Won | Lost | Points |
| 7. Aston Villa | 31 | 14 | 8 | 51 |
When it was implied on talkSPORT (8 April) that Emery could be tempted by a different job away from Villa Park, pundit Bardell replied: “Unai Emery won’t leave Villa.
“He will one day, but he’s a long-term project. Unai Emery has got everything he ever wanted, everything is built in his name, his childhood football club is owned by Villa’s owners, he’s not leaving Villa.
“He wouldn’t leave Villa for anyone in this current time.”
Aston Villa could have a historic season
Regardless of what Emery does in the long term, he has the chance to create history in the remaining few weeks due to the position he has taken the team.
The Villans are still competing on two fronts with the Champions League and the FA Cup, where they will face Crystal Palace in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium on 26 April.
Winning the double would be an unbelievable achievement for Villa, creating something for fans to celebrate while affirming that they are now a team to be taken seriously when it comes to winning silverware.
Villa are also looking to secure European football for next season through their Premier League finish.
They currently sit seventh after 31 games, but are just two points behind Chelsea in fourth, with everything to play for in the remaining seven matches.