Unai Emery has signed a five-year contract with Aston Villa until 2029 in a major boost for the club as they prepare for their first season in the Champions League.
Villa’s co-owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, made it their top priority to secure Emery with a new long‑term deal this summer after an excellent Premier League campaign. Villa finished fourth in the league, which meant qualifying for Europe’s premier competition for the first time since 1982-83, the season after they won the European Cup.
Emery has transformed the club’s fortunes since his appointment in October 2022, when they were at risk of relegation to the Championship, and he has been rewarded by being given total autonomy. He works closely with the president of football, Monchi, and the director of football operations, Damian Vidagany.
“We are building something special here at Aston Villa with Unai at its core and we are delighted that he has signed a new deal,” Sawiris, the Villa chairman, said. “As we move into our historic, 150th anniversary year, there is a lot to look forward to with Unai at the helm.”
Last month Villa triggered an extension until 2027 in Emery’s previous contract to ward off interest from clubs, including Bayern Munich, but they had always planned to discuss a longer deal in the close season.
“We are really excited to continue this journey with no limits to our dreams,” the Villa manager said. “I am very happy to take this step and the responsibility of leading this club.”
Ross Barkley could be one of Villa’s first signings this summer, with the midfielder close to joining from relegated Luton. The 30-year-old spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Villa Park from Chelsea, making 24 appearances, but is poised to return to the club on a permanent basis for a modest fee.
Emery has been both an inspirational and transformational presence since he arrived at Villa in October 2022, lifting us from the depths of the Premier League table to seventh place in his first seven months at the club.
In his first full campaign at the helm, he guided us to fourth spot in the standings, and subsequently secured our return to the top table in Europe as we’ll feature in the Champions League next season, and hopefully have a consistent presence in European competition.
Coupled with the improvement and development we’ve seen from individuals and the collective, the belief and stability that he’s brought to the club from a sporting perspective and the connection that he’s built with the supporters, everything is moving in the right direction currently under his stewardship, and hopefully for another five years and more, we’ll see us continue to go from strength to strength.
In the short-term though, this is a fundamental foundational piece secured to start our summer.
Not only does this new agreement fully dismiss any speculation over Emery’s future as he would undoubtedly have been a wanted man by other top clubs around Europe, but it hopefully also secures in place the core of our current group in terms of knowing that we will continue to build on our progress and ambitious plans for the future.
PSR and financial factors may influence that still, but ultimately the decision from Emery to commit for the next five years speaks volumes as to what the vision and strategy at Villa is moving forward and the potential longevity and sustainability of this project.
Further, it keeps our momentum going from last season heading into a vital pre-season, as Villa do not want to stagnate at any point now as we continue to raise the level and standards on and off the pitch.
Equally as important though is the impact it will have on our transfer plans this summer to bring in reinforcements to help us get to that next level.
Emery signing a long-term deal sends a clear message to prospective and priority targets and hopefully strengthens our position further in being able to convince them to join us this summer, with the lure of Champions League football also now a significant aspect.
It’s the ideal way to kick-start our off-season with kit launches, stadium improvements, commercial development and much, much more in the coming weeks and months, and it may well prove to be the best bit of business we do all summer given what we’ve seen Emery influence and achieve thus far.
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