Aston Villa manager latest: Decision imminent from candidate with Prem experience who is ‘seriously considering’ job

Aston Villa appear to be moving closer to the appointment of Unai Emery as their next manager after various reports in Spain and elsewhere emphasised how much he is thinking about accepting the job.

After the recent sacking of Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa are on the lookout for a new manager. They have been linked with Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim, but now look to have chosen another route.

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has also been in contention to become Gerrard’s replacement. And now, it seems the chances of a Premier League return for the Spaniard are increasing.

According to Marca, Aston Villa are willing to pay the €6million release clause (around £5.3million) in Emery’s contract that would free him from Villarreal. Notably, that makes him a cheaper acquisition than Amorim would be.

In turn, AS has reported that Emery is “seriously considering” the move to Aston Villa.

His Villarreal side are currently seventh in La Liga, four points outside the Champions League places after 11 matches. Emery won the Europa League with the club in 2021.

But it could soon be time for a new challenge for the 50-year-old. Fabrizio Romano has also confirmed that Aston Villa have approached him, giving the ex-Sevilla tactician something concrete to consider.

Villarreal still retain hope that they will be able to keep Emery. After all, he rejected a similar chance to leave for Newcastle United last year. However, he seems to be giving serious thought to the idea of becoming Aston Villa manager.

The report from Marca suggests that all should become clear within a matter of days or even hours. Some sense of certainty would help Aston Villa, who still managed to win 4-0 against Brentford with caretaker manager Aaron Danks in charge at the weekend.

Their next fixture in the Premier League will be against Newcastle on Saturday. Whether they will have a permanent manager in place by then remains to be seen.

Unai Emery worthy of fresh chance in Premier League as Aston Villa manager

If it is to be Emery, it could be an interesting appointment. He has proven with his successes at Villarreal that he deserves a second chance after how his Arsenal spell ended.

That said, the Yellow Submarine haven’t necessarily managed to progress too far in La Liga. They have finished seventh in each of the last two seasons.

Still, that is higher than Aston Villa have been in the Premier League. Therefore, he should be able to bring the kind of nous that the club need right now.

Even after their triumph over Brentford, Aston Villa are still only 14th in the top-flight table. They are hovering too close to the relegation zone for a team with as many talented players as they have.

Neither Gerrard nor his predecessor Dean Smith could seemingly get the best out of them. It could be up to Emery to try and unlock their potential instead.

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