Unai Emery is in advanced talks to extend his contract at Aston Villa, a deal that already runs to 2029, and there are very few reasons for him to leave for Manchester United. The Spaniard may feel some of Old Trafford's allure when he goes there on Sunday, but he is right in wanting to stay at the club with brighter prospects.
On Sunday afternoon, shortly before 4.30, Emery will leave the tunnel at Old Trafford and walk along the touchline towards the bench. He might glance around the grand old stadium and think he could have a part in restoring the club to former glories, or imagine himself as the first Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to land a league title.
Villa's fit and United's allure
Emery 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.
United remain the eighth wealthiest club by revenue in the world, and the allure of managing a club with that pedigree is one that very few clubs can match, no matter how good they were in the 1890s, and no matter how much the Villa owner, Nassef Sawiris, may dislike the fact.
Villa's threat of legal action against Jamie Carragher was an outrageous attack on free speech, according to the article. There is no way Carragher's comment about the food chain of football could be construed as defamatory, and while he might have made the comment in less provocative terms, swearing is not a crime.
Better run in almost every facet
United's allure has come to look distinctly tarnished, and it would represent a remarkable risk to make the leap from Villa to United at this juncture. In almost every facet, from infrastructure to personnel, the modern Villa are better run than the modern United. From Emery's point of view, it's not just that Villa are well run, it's that they're well run in his way.
He has the coaching staff he wants, while the president of football operations, Roberto Olabe, and the director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, are people he trusts and has worked with before. Emery would not have the degree of autonomy he has at Villa at many other clubs.
United's win over Roma on Tuesday may have eased the most immediate pressure on Michael Carrick, but nobody surely thinks that one good half against a depleted Serie A side cures all ills. There is a clear precedent from five years ago, when a popular former United player saw his team come from two down to beat a Serie A side managed by Gian Piero Gasperini; Ole Gunnar Solskjær was sacked a month later.
Villa's brighter prospect
The United crisis may have eased, but it is far from over. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe shows off architects' plans and begs for public money to build a new stadium, Villa get on with building the new Trinity Road Stand. While United's squad sags under the weight of its many contradictions, Villa's begins to take shape despite making 11 signings in the summer, even if the 3-0 defeat by Barcelona in midweek suggests there is still work to be done.
Villa have been smarter about using United players than United have. Victor Lindelöf was brought in on a free transfer in summer 2025 and has excelled since, and while Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho had less of an impact, Villa only signed them on loan. Rashford's time, which featured four goals in 17 appearances in all competitions, was probably the more eye-catching, but Sancho made 39 appearances in his season at Villa.
It's pretty hard to imagine at the moment, but at some point, United will start heading in the right direction. For now, though, Villa look by far the brighter prospect, a club on the up, while United are in barely managed decline.
