Aston Villa had ‘lucky escape’ avoiding sacked Premier League boss before hiring Unai Emery

Aston Villa could have ended up with Ruben Amorim – but he wouldn’t have become a legend like Unai Emery.

That’s the view of ex-Villans striker Gabby Agbonlahor, who has declared he told his former employers not to hire the Portuguese manager.

Getty

And less than four years after the Midlands outfit opted for Emery instead, he has ended the club’s 30-year trophy drought.

Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Wednesday night’s Europa League final at Besiktas’ Tupras Stadium in Istanbul.

The fixture was 44 years after Villa beat Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final, with Emery sealing his place in the club’s history.

In four seasons in charge of Villa, not only has he brought silverware back, but he has sealed four top seven finishes – securing Champions League football on two occasions.

But things could have ended differently had Villa turned to Amorim, who talkSPORT co-host Agbonlahor completed his coaching badges with.

Agbonlahor has revealed that he urged Villa to bring in Emery – who was a four-time Europa League champion at the time from his spells in charge at Sevilla and Villarreal.

While Emery moved to the Midlands, Amorim remained at Sporting Lisbon, where he would go on to oversee two Primeira Liga titles – leading Manchester United to come calling.

But what promised to be a dream appointment soon turned into a nightmare, with the 41-year-old sacked in January after just 63 games.

Em-azing appointment

Emery was the man of the moment at full time in Turkey, with talkSPORT broadcaster Adrian Durham quick to comment on how Villa’s fortunes could have been so different.

He said: “Also, let’s not forget, I think it was like October 2022 when they needed a new manager.

Getty

“They interviewed Ruben Amorim, I mean, they had a lucky escape there.”

Agbonlahor then provided some inside information on the managerial saga following Steven Gerrard’s sacking.

He revealed: “I told them not to sign him because I did my coaching badges with him.

“So I told them that’s a [bad appointment]…’Go for Unai Emery instead.'”

Later on commentary, Durham stated: “The appointment was a gamechanger. Listen, let’s respect what others did in the past at Aston Villa.

“Dean Smith in particular, I thought was magnificent for them, Steven Gerrard played his part in a much smaller way.

AFP

“But Unai Emery, the appointment itself, never mind what’s happened here tonight, is a gamechanger.”

Interjecting, Agbonlahor couldn’t help but wax lyrical over the Spaniard, insisting Villa must erect a statue in his honour.

He said: “This season, a horrendous start to the season, least amount of money spent in the transfer window last summer, but still, winning the Europa League and looking like they’re going to finish in the top four, Champions League football again, it’s incredible.

“Give him a contract, whatever he wants, get the statue ready, this man cannot leave his football club.”

Agbonlahor continued: “This manager, what he has done has been incredible, he’s got the club in his hands.

“Hopefully, he’ll be here for many more years and bring more trophies to this wonderful football club.”

Getty

Meanwhile Andy Townsend, who won two League Cups at Villa in 1994 and 1996, was also quick to heap praise on the ex-Arsenal boss.

The talkSPORT pundit said: “Yeah, couldn’t agree more, he’s a class act, he really is, and he has shaped and moulded a team.

“Not only winning trophies like tonight, playing some damn good football as well, playing the game that people love to watch, that’s what he does.”

As for ex-Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara, he went one step further in his assessment of Emery.

Speaking on The Sports Bar, he remarked: “Now, with Pep [Guardiola] leaving [Manchester City] in the summer, he’s the best manager in the Premier League.

“He is the best manager in the Premier League, hands down, he’s better than [Arsenal boss Mikel] Arteta.”