Very few reasons for Unai Emery to leave Aston Villa for Manchester United

Spaniard may feel some of Old Trafford’s allure when he goes there this afternoon but he is right in wanting to stay at the club with brighter prospects

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery. Photo: Nick Potts/Press Association.

This afternoon, shortly before 4.30, Unai Emery will leave the tunnel at Old Trafford and walk along the touchline towards the bench. Will he glance around the grand old stadium – faded and leaking though it may be in parts – and think that he could have a part in restoring the club to former glories? Will he look at the home bench and imagine himself sitting there – or perhaps more plausibly, scuttling up and down in front of it – as the first Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to land a league title?

Perhaps not. Emery is, after all, in “advanced talks” to extend a contract at Villa that already runs to 2029. However frustrating he may find the habitual summer churn, he is good at managing it. He feels the right fit for Villa, and that is arguably the most important factor in determining success. Yet all elite managers share a robust self-belief and there is a paradoxical sense that the worse the situation gets at United, the more appealing the job becomes.