Unai Emery was announced as the new manager of Aston Villa on Monday evening - just four days after they sacked Steven Gerrard.
Villa have confirmed the former Paris Saint-Germain manager, 50, will take charge on November 1 and leave current side Villarreal. It's Emery's second job in the Premier League after his 18-month spell at Arsenal, which ended with him getting the boot.
Emery is viewed as a coup for Villa, as he's won 11 trophies in management - including the Ligue 1 title and four Europa Leagues. His decision to join the Premier League club has surprised many fans considering he rejected Newcastle's advances last November.
Emery is yet to comment but his reasons for joining Villa - and rejecting Newcastle - are apparent from an interview he did with The Athletic in April. "The Newcastle project is an attractive project - something to build, different to Arsenal," he said.
"With Arsenal, you first had to knock down the walls, which is hard work, then start to build again. Newcastle, no; it was just about building from the ground up. So it is different, and I liked the idea. But I was also grateful to Villarreal for the opportunity they gave me, and we were in the Champions League."
It could be argued that Villa are in a similar position to where Newcastle were 11 months ago. They are hovering just above the relegation zone but have ambitions to break into Europe and challenge for honours in the future. Emery can mould them in his image.
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As to why he rejected the Newcastle job, Villarreal were challenging in the Champions League at the time. His decision to stay in Spain was rewarded, as they went on to reach the semi-finals of the competition - a superb achievement for a club of that size.
Villarreal are no longer a Champions League side - instead competing in the Europa Conference League this term - and it would've been difficult for Emery to lead them back into Europe's premier competition. To put it simply, now is the right time for him to leave.
Emery added: "That is my dream, one day, to win the Champions League... The Premier League is an attractive league for all us coaches. So when Newcastle called me, I thought a lot about the opportunity to return to England, to a serious project.
"For me, it was a source of pride, satisfaction - and I appreciated it. The opportunity of a club like Newcastle, what it could turn out to be, it is normal to listen to the offer, to consider it."
Villa CEO Christian Purslow revealed the club's ambitions after sacking Gerrard. "The board has come to this decision following a full evaluation of results and performances over the calendar year," said Purslow.
"We were clear when we appointed Steven that we set an objective of continuous improvement but that has not been achieved despite everybody’s best efforts and we believe the time is right to make these changes now. The process of appointing a new head coach is underway and we will update supporters as soon as possible."
