“He was sincere with us” – Player reveals what manager told squad after Newcastle United approach

Villarreal star Manuel Trigueros has revealed Unai Emery was ‘sincere’ with them when he discussed the interest from Newcastle United.

Emery was heavily linked with the Newcastle job last week, with the club looking to hire a replacement for Steve Bruce.

At one point, it appeared the deal was done, with the English media briefing as much after seemingly receiving multiple positive details from inside Newcastle United.

The reality, though, was very different, with Villarreal completely unaware of the interest and Emery himself seemingly oblivious to the fact he was about to take up a new job.

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Indeed, that appeared to lead to him electing to stay at Villarreal, with the Spanish manager left annoyed by the timing of the news given his side were competing in the Champions League on the day it broke.

He ultimately elected to ignore the interest from the Magpies and stay in Spain, and now Trigueros has revealed how he discussed the rumours with his players.

“That also comes back to us; we were waiting to see what would happen,” he told Marca.

“Emery told us that there was no offer and that he was staying. He was sincere with us, and he has stayed at Villarreal to achieve the objectives.”