Real Unión’s president, Igor Emery, and sporting director Mikel Bengoa, have recently travelled to Aston Villa, with transfers on the agenda.
El Diario Vasco report on the trip today in an interview with Bengoa about the trip, and the club’s plans moving forwards.
Aston Villa links
Real Unión are owned by Unai Emery and his family, who bought the Spanish club in 2021. The Basque club, a founding member of La Liga, are deeply tied to the Emery family, with the Aston Villa manager’s father and grandfather playing for them also.
The Premier League club, and their owners V Sports, announced a collaborative partnership with them back in 2023.
The pair have worked closely ever since and continue to do so. El Diario Vasco report that Bengoa and Igor Emery were in Birmingham last week. They first watched the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals.
But the trip had other motivations. They also got a look behind the scenes at Villa Park and discussed potential transfers between the two clubs.
“We took the opportunity to see some of the work being done to prepare for the final stretch of the season. But above all, to compare prospects for next season and align ourselves in the best way to be as competitive as possible,” explained Bengoa.
Aston Villa youngsters shining
The Spanish side were recently promoted from the Spanish fourth tier. According to Bengoa, that offers an interesting angle for Aston Villa next season.
They’ve loaned several youngsters to Real Unión in recent years. And Bengoa is keen for that to continue moving forwards.
“For them, Primera RFEF is a very interesting league for the development of their players,” he added.
“There’s no doubt that we’ll find common ground to help each other more easily than we would have in Segunda RFEF.
“The club is extremely happy with how those who have been here have developed. O’Reilly looks very likely to be sold this summer. Finney is developing in League One. Munroe started in League Two. But in January, they sold him to a Championship team.
“James Wright has been the third-choice goalkeeper for the first team all season. They’re happy with his good performance on a daily basis. Their assessment is that their time in Irun has given them experience that makes them stronger when they return to English football.”
