Unai Emery leaves Villarreal to become Aston Villa head coach

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery was named the new Aston Villa head coach Monday.

The Spaniard terminated his contract with La Liga's Villarreal to succeed Steven Gerrard in the West Midlands. He will officially take control of the struggling Premier League outfit when his work permit clears on Nov. 1.

The Villans paid €6 million to trigger his release clause with the Yellow Submarine, according to The Guardian's Fabrizio Romano.

Emery is best known for his record in Europe. He won three successive Europa League titles with Sevilla and triumphed in the same competition with Villarreal in 2021. Between those two managerial spells, Emery won a league title and four domestic cups with Paris Saint-Germain before lasting 18 months in charge of Arsenal.

The bench boss leaves Villarreal seventh in La Liga and with four wins from four matches in their Europa Conference League group. He will hold a farewell press conference on Tuesday.

Emery's first match in the Villa dugout will be against Manchester United on Nov. 6. Caretaker manager Aaron Danks is expected to be in charge for Saturday's trip to Newcastle United.

Aston Villa are positioned 15th in the Premier League table, three points ahead of the relegation zone. The last match of Emery's predecessor Gerrard was a dispiriting 3-0 defeat to Fulham that extended the club's dire run to just two wins over its opening 11 matches of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.

Temporary boss Danks subsequently oversaw Sunday's 4-0 win over Brentford.