Aston Villa have appointed Monchi as their new sporting director after his departure from Sevilla.

The 54-year-old has left Sevilla for the second time in his career, having spent two years as the sporting director of Roma between 2017 and 2019 before making a return. He has previous experience of working with Unai Emery, from when the pair were together at Sevilla. Together, they established themselves as serial winners in the Europa League and are now set to reunite in Birmingham.

Aston Villa appoint new sporting director Monchi

There were talks with Barcelona’s Mateu Alemany over a move, after a public statement confirmed that he would be leaving the club at the end of the transfer window. However, he performed a U-turn and has now ended up staying with the Catalonian side. As a result, Villa’s plans were scrapped.

However, they have now recruited one of the best sporting directors in Europe, with a history of building successful projects without a big budget.

Monchi has agreed to a contract until 2026 with Aston Villa, with the option to extend until 2027. He is expected to join the club officially in the coming days, and it will be very interesting to see how the transfer window goes for them this summer.

They have returned to European football by qualifying for the Europa Conference League, and will have to be smart in their business in order to cope with the pressures of competing on both fronts.