Matt Maher: Aston Villa show decisive action again with Unai Emery contract move

Nassef Sawiris, for one, simply does not mess about. Whether it be moving to complete a whirlwind rescue takeover with Wes Edens, refusing to sell Jack Grealish to Tottenham or making the transformational appointment of Unai Emery, Villa’s co-owner is a man who, once he has decided what he wants, typically moves at pace.

The swiftness with which Villa have moved to tie down Emery, amid incessant noise linking the Spaniard with Manchester United, should therefore come as no surprise.

Just how realistic a target the Spaniard really was for the Red Devils is questionable, yet Sawiris was never going to leave anything to chance.

A new, improved contract for Emery is expected to be agreed in due course, sending a message not only to United but all the other “bigger” clubs who will no doubt have looked upon his work at Villa and noted his name down on their shortlist of future potential managers.

It says plenty about the trust between club and manager that Villa effectively confirmed the deal before it was signed.

Wednesday night’s none too subtle social media post detailing “positive discussions establishing a clear commitment beyond 2029” - the date at which Emery’s current contract is due to expire - was curious in many ways. Clubs don’t usually tease multi-million pound deals in such a manner, far less so when those deals are not yet actually complete.

The fact Villa next play at United on Sunday no doubt had something to do with it. Bringing some clarity to proceedings was always preferable, particularly with Emery due to face the press pre-match on Friday afternoon, even if details of the contract still need to be thrashed out.

Then there is the relationship between Emery and Sawiris. The photo which accompanied Villa’s post, of the pair shaking hands in front of the club’s badge had echoes of that taken in Sawiris’ London home a little over four years ago, after Emery had agreed to join.

It was Sawiris who pursued the ambitious move for a head coach whom many would have assumed to be out of Villa’s reach at the time, who pushed a blank piece of paper across the desk and told Emery to write his vision for the club on it.

Sawiris, by some distance now the most hands-on of the club’s three billionaire owners, who was prepared to give Emery complete control of the football department in the belief it would pay off and boy, has he been proven right.

Emery’s current deal, signed in 2024 which saw a notable change of job title from head coach to manager, is worth around £15million-a-year and puts him among the highest paid managers in Europe. He has been worth every penny.

The danger has always been what happens should the manager depart and take most of the aforementioned department with him.

That is why Villa are always willing to give Emery everything he wants and why they do not hang about when they sense a threat to their position. It goes some way to explaining the - let’s face it - very over the top reaction by Sawiris to Jamie Carragher’s comments last week.

The efforts made by the club on his behalf are not lost on Emery, who knows ownership will give him everything the financial regulations allow to make a success of things.

Mega clubs like United will always have a pull. It is a bigger job than managing Villa, there’s no point debating that.

Yet right now, it isn’t a better job. In Villa, Emery still has his perfect match.