Unai Emery has been rewarded for his transformative effect at Aston Villa with a new three-year contract.
The Spaniard took over in October 2022, succeeding Steven Gerrard, with Villa 17th in the Premier League table and shaping up for a season battling relegation.
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However, Emery immediately imposed his style on a squad that was underperforming and guided them to a seventh-placed finish and a spot in the Europa Conference League.
That upward trajectory has continued this season with Villa actively involved in the title race until a wobble in January saw them retrain their sights on securing a place in next season’s Champions League.
Villa currently sit fourth, six points ahead of Tottenham, although Ange Postecoglou’s men do have two games in hand.
Emery said: “We are enjoying our way together with Villa fans, the club owners, management and this great group of players that we are proud of.
“Me and the football management… we share the vision of the owners. Nassef [Sawiris] and Wes [Edens] are very supportive and respectful, and we have a good environment and the right structure to develop this football club.
“We must maintain the hard-working spirit, clever decisions and coordination with the ownership that we have found during this time. We will work to get better and better. And we will demand from each other. Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project.”
Aston Villa are thrilled to announce head coach Unai Emery has agreed to a contract extension until 2027. ✍️
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 23, 2024
Four-time Europa League winner Emery has also continued his excellent record in Europe by guiding Villa to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League where they will play Olympiacos over two legs next month.
He has overseen 59 games in the Premier League for Villa, winning 35 with an average points per game of 1.95.
That impressive record has seen him linked with a host of top jobs this summer, most notably Bayern Munich.
Sawiris added: “We are thrilled and are building a sporting operation around Unai to support him with a view of returning Aston Villa, a co-founder of the English Football League as we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary, to its historic levels of greatness.”
