Newcastle United

Newcastle United

Premier League • England

Puzzled Villarreal chief hits Newcastle with bold Emery statement, as Staveley belief grows

Villarreal manager Unai Emery, October 2021

Villarreal president Fernando Roig has insisted that he does not think manager Unai Emery will leave and move to Newcastle.

The Magpies have endured a long search for Steve Bruce’s successor, but their deadline for doing so is drawing closer. Indeed, the club reportedly want a new coach in ahead of the international break from next week.

While the likes of Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre once looked like firm candidates, links with them have now faded.

Instead, former Arsenal boss Emery has now emerged as the most likely candidate to take up the job. The Spaniard also reportedly has his first January signing in mind.

However, Villarreal president Roig has insisted that he thinks Emery will stay put and said he has not heard of any approach from Newcastle.

He told the Daily Mail when asked if the manager could leave: “I don’t think so. He’s a professional and we have two big games coming up. He will be busy preparing the game against Young Boys.

“I have absolutely no idea [about any approach]. What I do know is that he has a contract with us and contracts are there to be fulfilled. I have no doubts about Unai’s professionalism.

“The important thing is that fans can’t be bought. They don’t go to Newcastle or Manchester United.

Newcastle send scouts to watch Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz

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Newcastle are stepping up their interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and have sent scouts to Germany according to reports, with more news on Jesse Lingard and Aaron Ramsey.

“Loads and loads of players and coaches have been and gone and you’re always prepared for what might come. We fans are always here. What matters is that the feeling for Villarreal remains.”

Indeed, Emery came into this season looking to continue to develop Villarreal further. They beat Manchester United to win the Europa League final last season, which has propelled them into the Champions League.


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“We picked Emery, as we pick all our coaches because we believed he would play good football,” Roig said.

“Winning the Europa League gave us greater visibility. And it put us in the Champions League. Now I think we have the best squad in our history. We will turn things around in the league.”

Staveley confident of Emery at Newcastle

Unai Emery, Nuno Espirito Santo

On the flipside, though, the Daily Mail adds that Newcastle chief Amanda Staveley feels confident that she will lure Emery to Tyneside.

The chief executive of PCP Capital Partners, which owns 10 per cent of Newcastle, has led the manager search from the beginning.

More recently, though, she held a series of Zoom calls on Sunday which have led to her belief that she has won Emery over.

Indeed, Staveley and Newcastle feel confident that Emery can arrive in time for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brighton.

The Magpies currently sit 19th in the table after 10 games and are yet to win.