Manchester United have been linked with a host of Erik ten Hag replacements but one former Premier League midfielder is surprised that Unai Emery has not been mentioned so far.
Now, perhaps there are a couple of reasons why the slick-haired Spaniard has managed to stay clear of the sort of speculation that continuously surrounds the likes of Roberto de Zerbi and Thomas Frank.
Unai Emery is only halfway through the long-term deal he signed when replacing Steven Gerrard back in 2022. Getting him out of an ambitious and very deep-pocketed Aston Villa side, meanwhile, would be difficult to say the least.
Furthermore, there is a feeling that a club of Manchester United’s size and stature is precisely the sort of institution where Emery’s best attributes – his preference for a vice-like grip over football operations and his rather strong-armed approach to man-management – tend not to be received quite so warmly.
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It is surely no coincidence that while Emery has worked wonders at Aston Villa, while guiding Sevilla and Villarreal to European silverware – defeating Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 2021 Europa League final – he often looked out of his depth at the A-list environments of Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.
Nonetheless, Don Hutchison feels that – with a number of Premier League powerhouses potentially in the market for a new head coach this summer – the manner and the speed in which Emery has turned Villa from relegation battlers to Champions League chasers at least warrants discussion.
“One man who I think doesn’t get a mention… I think if you’re Man Utd or Liverpool, (you should be looking at) Unai Emery at Aston Villa,” the former Everton, West Ham and Anfield ace tells BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If you’re Man Utd or Liverpool, the job that he’s done at Villa, I think it’s been remarkable.
“Now, I’m not saying he would leave Aston Villa. But when Man Utd or Liverpool come calling, you have to think about that. And I think he deserves a special mention for the job that he’s done at Villa.”
According to reports, Man United’s new decision makers at Ineos are willing to overlook Graham Potter’s miserable spell at Chelsea if he is chosen as the man to inherit the keys to the Old Trafford kingdom.
And Hutchison feels that any club taking a look at Emery should adopt a similarly forgiving tone when looking at his ill-fated, 18-month spell at Arsenal between 2018 and 2019.
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“I think it was bad timing (at Arsenal). He went in after Arsene Wenger, and it’s difficult to follow the man,” the ex-Scotland international adds.
“He might be thinking; ‘Not again, I’m not going to do that twice in a row’. But, at the same time, if he gets offered the job, it’s difficult to turn down Liverpool or Man Utd.”
Ten Hag picked up an unconvincing but welcome 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
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