Unai Emery to sign new Aston Villa contract, end Manchester United speculation

Unai Emery is reportedly close to agreeing a new long-term contract with Aston Villa, putting to bed any talk of Villa’s manager leaving the club.

Emery’s current deal runs until 2029, and there had been speculation linking Manchester United – Villa’s opponents this weekend – with a move for the Spaniard in the event they parted ways with current manager Michael Carrick.

But it seems Emery will commit his future to Villa, where he has enjoyed a massively successful four years, including two qualifications for the Champions League and a Europa League title, which was the club’s first major trophy in 30 years.

Reports of the impending new deal came from The Telegraph’s John Percy, who described the talks as “advanced”. It followed a club statement which seemed to imply an extension for Emery could be on the horizon.

Villa posted on their X account on Wednesday: “Aston Villa held an important working meeting today to plan the club's future and lay the foundations for its long-term sporting and institutional project.

“The meeting brought together Nassef Sawiris, the club's Chairman and Unai Emery alongside President of Football Operations Roberto Olabe and Director of Football Operations Damián Vidagany.

The discussions focused on jointly planning the club's long-term strategic direction, with positive discussions establishing a clear commitment beyond 2029 for the joint development of the club under the sporting leadership of Unai Emery based on the shared ambitions and common goal to reach excellency and keep growing during the next years.

The objective is clear: to build an ambitious, competitive Aston Villa capable of taking on the biggest challenges and achievements.”

Villa's post was accompanied by two pictures, one of Emery and Sawiris shaking hands in front of the Aston Villa badge, and another of Emery, Sawiris, Olabe and Vidagany arm in arm. It was a powerful statement which is sure to settle any nerves over Emery’s future.

The mentioning of 2029 seemed to point to a new deal for Emery, which has now been confirmed. Jacob Tanswell of The Athletic reported Vidagany and Olabe, Emery’s right-hand men, are also in talks over new deals.

Emery has completely transformed Villa’s fortunes since arriving in November 2022, turning them from a team hovering just above the relegation zone to a perennial contender for the European places.

The best way for Villa to stay at the top of the Premier League for years to come is by keeping him. The club has just undertaken a rebuild in Emery’s image, with the manager having unparalleled power to run the team as he sees fit.

The club and manager are now tightly intertwined due to the manager’s unique control over football decisions and the owner’s 25% stake in Real Union, which Emery has a majority stake in.

It is going to be very difficult for Emery to find the kind of support he has at Villa elsewhere, and that is a credit to the owners. Unless a once in a lifetime job offer comes along, Emery may remain Villa’s manager for many, many years to come.

Most Villa fans always believed the possibility of Emery leaving for Man United was remote, especially midseason. The fanbase has grown frustrated with what has felt like a push from certain prominent media members that he could or should be interested in ditching Villa for United.

Villa chairman and majority owner Nassef Sawiris used the team’s X account to declare his intent to pursue legal action against pundit Jamie Carragher on Friday for what he called “unacceptable insults”.

This came after the former Liverpool defender told Villa fans to “shut the f*** up” following backlash from the fanbase to his comments around Emery and the vacancy at Man United.

The legal action was dropped after an apology from Carragher. It seems Sawiris simply wanted to defend the club, make their ambitions clear and shut down the idea their manager could be stolen by a team they have outperformed over the last four years.

The fact that statement ended with: “Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football” spoke volumes about Sawiris’ intent.

Villa have wealthy, committed owners, and arguably the best manager in the country. Now they have assurances he is in it for the long haul, they can chart a course to continue providing him with all the tools he needs for success in the coming seasons.