Unai Emery named new Aston Villa head coach

Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery as their new head coach. The Midlands club recently dismissed Steven Gerrard after almost a year in charge. And now, they have found a long-term replacement for the former Rangers manager. 

Emery was in charge of Villarreal in Spain, and was expected to stay on. However, with his contract expiring in the summer, he could not turn down Villa like he did Newcastle prior to Eddie Howe getting the job. 

Unai Emery returns to England with Aston Villa 

The Clarets will pay €6 million to the La Liga club as part of Unai Emery’s release clause. And they have also agreed a €7 million per season contract with the former Arsenal manager to make his return to the Premier League. 

The work permit is expected to take a few days to arrive, which means that the newly appointed manager won’t be on the bench this weekend. His first game with his new club will be against Manchester United following November 1, the team he beat with Villarreal to win the Europa League. 

“Emery has gone down in Villarreal CF history for becoming the first coach to win a title with the club, the UEFA Europa League, as well as the historic achievement of reaching the Champions League semi-finals last year and helping the team qualify team for European competitions for two consecutive seasons,” an official statement from the Spanish side read.