Exclusive: Unai Emery on the brink as four senior Aston Villa stars fall out with manager
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is edging closer to losing his job after a behind-the-scenes bust-up with senior players, Villa News can exclusively reveal.
The Villans have had a woeful start to the new Premier League season, which has seen them find the back of the net just once in their opening five league games.
Transfer chief Monchi has now left Aston Villa, and Villa News understands that Emery is also heading in the same direction.
Emery has taken the second city outfit to new heights in recent seasons, but he now finds himself moving closer and closer to an embarrassing dismissal following a concerning development.
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers among four-man Unai Emery fallout
Villa News has been told by a source close to the club that Emery has fallen out with four senior stars.
Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Emi Martinez and Tyrone Mings are all understood to have lost faith in the Spanish boss, as he has overseen their worst start to a league season in 28 years.
Pressure has been mounting on the 53-year-old with every passing game, and he now finds himself facing a major dressing room headache.
Aston Villa have refused to comment.
Emery led the Villans to the Champions League for the first time since the 1982/83 campaign last term, but the situation has changed drastically at Villa Park, and his days now seem numbered.
Why Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez are unhappy at Aston Villa
Emi Martinez pushed to leave Villa throughout the summer, as he even made personal calls to Argentina teammate Lisandro Martinez to try and entice action from Manchester United on deadline day.
Tensions between him and the club have arisen as a result of the stance that Villa took regarding his future, as they were determined to keep hold of him until the end of the transfer window.
Watkins’ frustrations stem from Emery’s decision to bench him for both legs of last season’s Champions League quarter-final with PSG in favour of Marcus Rashford.
The 29-year-old was the Villans’ top scorer in all competitions at that stage of the season, but ultimately played just 25 minutes across the entire tie, as the manager instead opted to hand a loan player the opportunity to lead the line in the club’s biggest games for a generation.
Watkins was also heavily linked with a move away in the summer, and the frustrations among the senior duo have now come to a head.
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