Aston Villa and Villarreal both announced on Monday evening that Unai Emery would be leaving the Spanish club and heading for the Premier League.
It felt like a whirlwind operation. Earlier that day, Marca had reported Emery was seriously considering the vacancy and that the deal could be closed within hours. That felt a little optimistic from the Spanish newspaper, at least in terms of timeline, but they were quickly proven to be correct.
Marca later published a further article, in which they said Aston Villa initially made contact with Emery in August. That shows a stance that there were doubts over Steven Gerrard long before he was shown the door at Villa Park.
Emery wasn’t interested in opening negotiations in August, but things were different now and he went through with the move. Marca insist there’s no bad feeling towards the manager, and it’s felt he’s handled the whole thing with ‘elegance’.
Over at El Periódico Mediterráneo, Villarreal’s local newspaper, they say Emery was aware Aston Villa wanted him last weekend.
The proposal was made official on Monday and the Spanish club started to look for a replacement. Mauricio Pochettino was the first man approached and when he quickly turned down the proposal, Quique Setién was then contacted and it’s expected he’ll be announced today.
