Emery may have to ask himself whether it is worth swapping his strong and stable position at Villa for potential chaos at Bayern.
With three European heavyweights all searching for new head coaches this summer, it was bound to happen eventually.
That is the feeling at Aston Villa, who boast the in-vogue coach on account of their position in the Premier League table, a mighty rise in fortunes that is largely down and rightly credited to Unai Emery.
A crucial few months are in the offing, therefore, for as well as Liverpool, two Champions League quarter-finalists in Bayern Munich and Barcelona will be hiring anew at the end of the season – meaning they are on the hunt right now.
It is likely Villa’s resolve will be tested, especially as Xabi Alonso’s desire to remain at Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen has prompted both Bayern and Liverpool to look elsewhere.
Where exactly Emery places on Bayern’s shortlist is unclear, but he will have been bumped up at least one spot on account of Alonso’s commitment to Leverkusen.
Now Villa will be hoping Emery does the same, by pledging his future to the club at a time where they are flying high in fourth and remain favourites for the Europa Conference League, which could be their first major trophy since 1996.
A new contract would do the trick, a statement of intent 17 months on from signing a four-and-a-half-year deal when first joining the club, but that may require some convincing if Bayern contact the Spaniard.
After all, it would be a step up, an opportunity for regular domestic honours with a fighting chance of the Champions League each season – a feat Villa fans would hope is around the corner with Emery in charge, but is realistically a distant prospect given financial constraints and the might of clubs above them.
It potentially presents Emery with a major decision, and with the level of expectation in Germany immense, he may have to ask himself whether it is worth swapping his strong and stable position at Villa for the chaos at Bayern, which has been a deathtrap for coaches in recent years – a point that goes somewhat unnoticed given the reputations of other recent Champions League winners beyond Manchester City and Liverpool.
Real Madrid are known to be ruthless, Chelsea have hired and fired for 20 years now, but Bayern are no better. They have had six permanent managers since Pep Guardiola left in 2016, a period in which Chelsea have also had six, and Real Madrid five (including Zinedine Zidane across two spells).
The Bayern pressure cooker has resulted in Carlo Ancelotti, Niko Kovac and Julian Nagelsmann all being sacked since 2017, while Tuchel’s bizarre stay of execution – it was announced in February he would leave at the end of this season – is merely to keep their Champions League bid on track despite their Bundesliga hopes, for the first time in 12 years, completely derailing.
Bayern said they want to carry out a “sporting realignment” this summer, and whatever that may focus on, it is easy to envisage Emery at the helm – a proven tactician who bounced back from his ill-fated Arsenal spell and reemerged as an elite head coach.
Winning the Europa League and then taking Villarreal to the Champions League semi-finals in 2021-22 goes down as an overachievement, and given the competition around him now – specifically the teams below like Manchester United and Chelsea – it is safe to say Emery is working wonders at Aston Villa as well.
A coach that has lifted an entire squad and got them dancing to his tune will appeal to Bayern, and leaves Villa on tenterhooks at a time where they are on course for Champions League football, particularly if fifth place secures a spot in Europe’s top-tier competition.
These are exciting times at Villa Park, the outlook has not been this bright for more than a decade, but now comes the jeopardy of an unexpected Champions League place putting their head coach further in the spotlight. And who knows, Bayern may not be the only ones knocking, especially if Chelsea and Manchester United fancy a change and want to join the merry-go-round as well.
What would life without Emery look like? It is hard to picture their remarkable consistency not taking a hit– they were second for points behind only Manchester City in the calendar year of 2023 – and so minimal disturbance would require enabling the same pulling power that saw them land Emery in the first place.
The lure of the Champions League would certainly help, and if the foundations are already in place then Villa could go for broke – knowing they are in a far stronger position than when they fell upwards from Steven Gerrard to Emery in 2022.
They shot for the moon once and can be confident of repeating the trick. Only this time, they don’t want it to get to that point, for the man Villa want is the man who’s already there.
Hands off is the cry from all in claret and blue.
