Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery is set to replace Steven Gerrard at the helm of Aston Villa.
The legendary ex-Liverpool captain was relieved of his duties following a 3-0 loss away to newly promoted Fulham on Thursday, despite an encouraging performance from the Villains in a home defeat to Chelsea the game before.
The result in London left Villa 17th in the Premier League standings, level on points with Wolves who occupied the final relegation spot, and just three points ahead of Nottingham Forest at the foot of the table.
However, Villa responded to Gerrard’s sacking immediately with an impressive 4-0 victory over Brentford at the weekend, taking them up to 14th prior to West Ham’s fixture against Bournemouth on Monday night, which could see the Villains drop a spot.
Villa are set to appoint former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as their new manager, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano. The Spaniard’s €6million release clause is bound to be activated by the English side, bringing an end to what has been a successful stint in charge of Villareal.
Emery led the Yellow Submarine to UEFA Europa League glory in 2021, beating Man United on penalties in the final. The ex-PSG boss then took Villareal on another impressive European run last season, this time reaching the Champions League semi-finals before being knocked out by Liverpool.
Emery’s spell at Arsenal began promisingly, before unraveling towards the end of the 2018/2019 campaign, as the Gunners threw away a spot in the following season’s UCL after a series of poor performances.
They ended up finishing 5th that season and reached the Europa League final, where they were brutally beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku. Emery was sacked in late November the following campaign after a run of poor results.
Emery’s Villareal currently sit 7th in La Liga and are top of their Europa Conference League group, winning all four group-stage games thus far.
The agreement is reportedly being finalized to take Emery back to England on a long-term contract.
