Villarreal in the dark on Unai Emery joining Newcastle with ‘exit clause’ explained

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Newcastle have been tipped to appoint former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as their new manager following the sacking of Steve Bruce last month. Bruce was axed after Mike Ashley sold the club to a Saudi-led consortium.

Emery is currently in charge of Villarreal and led the Spanish side to Europa League glory last season after they defeated Manchester United in the final.

This term his team are embarking on a campaign in the Champions League and face Young Boys tonight with high hopes of securing their second European victory.

But the 49-year-old has emerged as the frontrunner to land the top job at St James’ Park, ahead of Eddie Howe and Paulo Fonseca.

Emery might be tempted to return to England for a second time after being sacked by Arsenal less than 18 months after taking over at the Emirates Stadium in 2018.

The Spaniard led the Gunners to the Europa League final during his only full season at the helm as Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League.

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But he was unceremoniously dismissed in the early part of the following season.

If Emery is to take over at Newcastle, he will need to be the driving force to end his contract with his current team.

According to Diario AS, Villarreal are in the dark about Emery quitting the club and appear to have had no dialogue with the Magpies at this stage.

And they are still clearly planning for life with Emery at the helm.

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But the former defender apparently has a clause in his contract which says he can move to another club if they stump up €6million (£5.1m).

If the English club come in for Emery, the manager will therefore be able to walk away from his current role as long as Newcastle chiefs put their hands in their pockets.

Emery has tasted success at a whole host of clubs during 17 years as a manager.

He won the Europa League three times with Sevilla before his success last season and has become known as a specialist in the competition.

Emery also tasted success in France during a two-year spell in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title in his first season after taking over in 2016 as well as two French Cups.

But the Villarreal boss was quick to distance himself from the Newcastle job when questioned about it during a press conference on Monday. “I do not know anything about Newcastle,” Emery said.

Meanwhile, Villarreal president Fernando Roig has claimed his manager is happy where he is.

“Emery is very happy in Villarreal and has a contract in force,” said Roig. “It is not a decision of Villarreal’s.”

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