Emery extends Villa contract

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has extended his contract until 2027, the Premier League club announced.

Emery has done an impressive job at Villa Park, guiding the club from a relegation fight when he took over from Steven Gerrard in November 2022 to the brink of Champions League qualification.

The Birmingham club are fourth in the Premier League table, six points ahead of fifthplaced Tottenham, who have two games in hand.

Villa are also through to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they will face Olympiakos as they hunt a first European trophy since 1982, when they were crowned European champions. The former Sevilla, Paris St Germain and Arsenal boss was recently linked with the vacant Bayern Munich position and a number of other top European clubs are in the hunt for new managers.

“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,” said the 52-year-old Spaniard, whose existing deal had two years to run.

“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.”

Chairman Sawiris said: “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 their historic levels of greatness.”