A photo uploaded on Aston Villa’s Twitter page at 3.01 pm on November 2 is a fantastic example of Unai Emery’s dominance at his new club.
In opulent circumstances, Emery is shown holding the claret-and-blue shirt alongside Nassef Sawiris, the club’s co-owner.
The message was clear: Sawiris and fellow billionaire Wes Edens had hand-picked Emery and would be trusted to handle things his way.
Emery is the club’s fourth manager since Sawiris and Edens saved it from extinction in 2018, but he has the strongest pedigree, thus his influence is stronger than that of his predecessors.
Though Steven Gerrard was instrumental in the ill-fated purchase of Philippe Coutinho, the former England captain did not have such power. Perhaps not since Martin O’Neill, who commanded the team from 2006 to 2010.
Matteo Guendouzi, Arnaut Danjuma, and Gerard Deulofeu are among Villa’s other ambitions. Danjuma and Guendouzi both worked with Emery at Villarreal and Arsenal, and they both adore him.
Chief executive Christian Purslow has rebuilt the club impressively, pushing ahead with the redevelopment of Villa Park, which will see capacity grow to 50,000.
Sporting director Johan Lange’s data-driven approach has brought structure to the recruitment process at every level. Yet the first team is Emery’s show now, and there will be yet more changes in this window and in the summer.
The Basque is a workaholic who works 13-hour days. Emery, who is based near the training facility, is on duty even when his players are not.
Senior players John McGinn and Tyrone Mings say he has immediately elevated their game with his laser-focused coaching, while staff members have praised his friendly demeanor.
The squad was thrilled with his tactical approach for his debut game, which saw Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia start outside in a 4-4-2 but move inside to establish a numerical advantage in the midfield.
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