The final straw for Unai Emery at Aston Villa? New transfer emerges, that could force Basque out
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has rebuilt the Midlands outfit, and has his team looking steady on all fronts after a crazy summer.
After winning the Europa League, the Basque boss saw the spine of his side ripped out, with Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins all sold – and Aston Villa started the season understandably poorly as a result.
Emery has steadied the ship impressively, but with interest from Manchester United, could Villa’s next transfer move be the one that sees him call time on his tenure in the Midlands?
Aston Villa to be raided again – what more can Unai Emery do?
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Barcelona are tracking on of Villa’s major acquisitions of the summer, Johan Manzambi.
The Swiss midfielder featured for Emery’s side last night at Camp Nou, as Barça ran out 3-0 winners in the Champions League.
According to the report, Blaugrana chief Deco and manager Hansi Flick took the opportunity to see Manzambi “up close”, as the Catalan outfit consider whether to launch a move for the Villa record signing in the future.
Villa have been open to selling their biggest talents in recent seasons, using the £100 million earned from the sale of Jack Grealish to reinvest in the squad, while battling Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) for much of Emery’s tenure as manager.
Given that the 55-year-old has already rebuilt the squad once, however, a move for Manzambi may prove to be a catalyst that sees him leave Villa Park.
Emery surely can’t take Villa too much further – having qualified for the Champions League through the club’s league position twice and delivered major silverware – and should the Basque consider his job complete, the sale of a major cornerstone for his next Villa side, in Manzambi, could see any manager consider their future.
While FourFourTwo understands that Emery is fully committed to his project, the sale of major talents next summer – that Villa have only just invested in – would make his job even more difficult.
The former Sevilla, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain manager has been one of the most successful managers in Villa’s history, leading the club to seventh, fourth, sixth, and fourth again in the Premier League.
In that time, Emery’s side reached the semi-finals of the Conference League and the quarter-finals of the Champions League, before winning the Europa League last season.
Aston Villa travel to Manchester United this weekend as Premier League action continues.
