Emery nears new Aston Villa deal and points to the Money League as Villa head to Old Trafford

Aston Villa travel to Old Trafford this weekend with their head coach on the verge of committing his long-term future to the club. Unai Emery is close to agreeing a new contract at Villa Park, after talks this week with the club's owners that both sides described as very positive, and he has used his pre-match press conference to make the case that Villa are heading firmly in the right direction, Birmingham Live reports.

"A clear commitment beyond 2029"

Emery, who was already under contract until 2029, met the chairman Nassef Sawiris and executives Roberto Olabe and Damian Vidagany on Wednesday. In a statement afterwards, the club said the discussions had focused on "jointly planning the club's long-term strategic direction", establishing "a clear commitment beyond 2029 for the joint development of the club under the sporting leadership of Unai Emery".

"The objective is clear: to build an ambitious, competitive Aston Villa capable of taking on the biggest challenges and achievements," the statement said.

According to BBC Sport, the new deal would hand Emery even more responsibility for the club's long-term development, with the fine details, finances and length of the contract still being worked out. It is expected to be announced once everything has been agreed.

"I support the club's statement. But what I can say is that the meeting we had with Nassef, Roberto (and Damian) on Wednesday was very positive," Emery told reporters at Bodymoor Heath.

Pointing to the Money League

At the end of his press conference, Emery pulled up Deloitte's Football Money League on his phone to make a point. Villa were 14th in the most recent edition, with revenue of €450m (£375m), just behind Atletico Madrid and ahead of AC Milan, Juventus and Newcastle United.

"How the club is moving on is clear. How we are improving and how we are increasing our budget and revenue. This is clear," he said. "To keep the consistency is the challenge. For Nassef, for the club and for here as well at Bodymoor. And the step forward we are doing with the works at Villa Park with the new stand."

"The level we have now, Aston Villa, we can analyse it and see where we are in the Deloitte Money ranking. We are 14th. It makes sense in the position we are in now and how we want to get better."

Four years of transformation

Emery celebrated four years at Villa last month. He arrived from Villarreal in October 2022 with the club in a relegation fight, and has since qualified for European football in every season. In May, Villa won the Europa League, their first major trophy in 30 years.

This season has been more of a rebuild after several key players were sold in the summer. Villa are tenth in the Premier League, but have won three of their four opening matches in the Champions League.

The trip to Old Trafford

Emery has been linked with Manchester United, Villa's opponents this weekend, but the talks this week make clear where both he and the club see his future. A positive result at Old Trafford before the international break would cap a good week for everyone at Villa Park.