Unai Emery left Villarreal to make a Premier League soccer return with Aston Villa naming his new head coach. Emery replaced Steven Gerrard at Villa Park after the Midlands club reportedly paid the Spanish club €6m (£5.25m) release clause to complete his English top-flight return nearly three years after his Arsenal exit. Earlier, Villa sacked Gerrard after collecting just nine points from 11 games this season.
“Aston Villa is delighted to announce the appointment of Unai Emery as the club’s new head coach,” Villa said in a statement. “Unai will take over from November 1st after his work permit formalities are completed.” Villa’s interim manager, Aaron Danks, will remain in charge for the visit to Newcastle. We offer accurate football prediction sites and odds for your betting success!
This will be the Spaniard’s second spell in England as he previously managed Arsenal from May 2018 to November 2019. Under Emery, the Gunners reached the 2019 Europa League final where they were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea. In the same season, he secured a fifth-place finish in the league before being sacked due to a poor start the following campaign.
Emery started his coaching prominence with Almeria, leading them to promotion to LaLiga in 2007. He also managed Sevilla where he won three successive Europa League titles between 2013 and 2016 to hold the record for most titles won by a manager in that competition after winning his fourth trophy with Villarreal. In 2018, he lifted Ligue 1 in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
The 50-year-old led the club to Europa League success and gave them their first over trophy in his debut season since taking charge in 2020. He also took them to Champions League semifinals a year later, beating Juventus and Bayern Munich before losing to Liverpool. Meanwhile, Villarreal announced that former Barcelona manager Quique Setien would replace Emery shortly after Emery’s exit.
“My home, not my club, because I have felt integrated, loved, identified with and passionate for Villarreal,” Emery wrote. “We’ve achieved success together, we’ve lived great moments and, regardless of the results, I’ve felt more loved and supported than ever. I’ve enjoyed this journey to the maximum. However, part of every journey is its end.” Emery’s Villarreal contract was due to expire next summer.
Emery will be joining a Villa side who are 14th in the standings with 12 points after winning just 3 of 12 games so far this season, losing 6 and drawing the other 3. Emery is expected to make his first appearance in Villa’s home match against Manchester United, the rematch of the 2021 Europa League where United lost on penalties.
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