Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Unai Emery following the sacking of Steven Gerrard. However, the former Newcastle United target will not be in charge for the club's visit to St James' Park on Saturday.
Gerrard was dismissed after less than year in charge, with a heavy defeat at Fulham proving to be the final straw. Thomas Frank, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel were all linked with the vacant post, and Emery emerged as a target on Monday.
The former Arsenal manager enjoyed success in Europe with Villarreal, defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final in 2021 before guiding the La Liga side to the Champions League semi-final last season. A club statement from Villa confirmed the appointment on Monday night, and Emery is due to take charge from November 1 due to 'work permit formalities'.
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It means Emery will not make his Villa debut against the club he turned down last year. Newcastle's new owners interviewed the ex-PSG manager and Eddie Howe for the post, before initially offering the job to the former.
Emery later admitted the project to lead the rebuild on Tyneside was 'attractive', but stressed his commitment to Villarreal and his desire to see through their Champions League campaign. The 50-year-old will leave the club seventh in La Liga.
Howe was recently asked about going toe-to-toe with Emery for the chance to succeed Steve Bruce at St James' Park. The current Newcastle boss says he felt 'resigned' to losing out on the job, but is determined to prove he is the 'right man' to deliver long-term success.
He told reporters earlier this month: "The moment I found out that it was myself and Unai going for the job, I sort of resigned myself that it wasn't going to be mine for obvious reasons when you look at his track record and the clubs that he has managed. So I was quite relaxed about the situation.
"I'm a believer in fate and certain things happening for a reason so if it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. I couldn't get too down about it in that moment while there was obviously a huge sense of disappointment as well because I felt Newcastle was the one that I wanted.
"Mentally, I'm able to put those disappointments to the back of mind and, then, it came around very quickly and things changed. That's the fate part and believing something happens for a reason. Then I was only too pleased to take the opportunity."
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