By Aaron Conlon
Unai Emery has done a fantastic job at Aston Villa this season, putting them on target for their first season in the Champions League for over 40 years. This as well as some impressive results this season against title-challenging sides, such as a league double over Arsenal and a 1-0 home win over Manchester City has at no surprise led to the suggestion of the Spaniard taking over the helm at Liverpool once Klopp leaves. Fabrizio Romano has provided his verdict on the idea.
Is Liverpool’s Title Challenge Over?
“We’re hearing a lot at the moment about some fantastic managers who could be on the move this summer as big clubs like Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona could be looking for new head coaches, but one name we’re not hearing much about is Unai Emery. My understanding is that this is because Emery is fully focused on Aston Villa. Emery with Monchi, Damian Vidagany, are all together focusing on Villa’s European campaign this season and of course on a Champions League spot for next season. Nothing is concrete at this stage with other jobs; there’s interest for sure in Emery but he’s focusing on Villa now.”
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If Emery were to win the conference league this season, it would be the first piece of silverware won by Villa since 1996, further demonstrating Emory’s reputation as a serial winner in Europe, becoming his 5th European trophy.
At Villa, the former Sevilla boss often deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation with emphasis on the speed of transitional play, setting up for quick counter-attacks from a strong double pivot with fast wingers such as Diaby and a powerful forward like Ollie Watkins running in behind, something that can be associated with Klopp’s teams. This certainly wouldn’t be a far cry from the current system implemented at Liverpool.
However, whilst at PSG, a possession-dominant side like Liverpool, Emery also deployed a 4-3-3, with a narrow forward line with wide attacking fullbacks, providing a foundation almost identical to Klopp’s, something in which the Liverpool players may find themselves more accustomed to.
Whilst at Arsenal, Hector Bellerin was also seen at times to drift infield from right back, which could match Trent Alexander Arnold and his new ‘inverted’ fullback role. Tactically, Klopp and Emery can be viewed as ‘on the same wavelength’ and Emery may have the tactical prowess and capabilities to extend Klopp’s lineage and footballing philosophy at Liverpool.
Redmen Reacts
Emery could be viewed as an ideal candidate to take over from Klopp and has previously been linked, however, questions can be raised over the end of his stint at Arsenal. The Spaniard seemed to lose all sense of identity and lost his authority along the way, even giving the captaincy out via team vote, passing up any leadership he did have left over to the players and when Arsenal struggled, especially away from home he was unable to rebound and he was sacked, leaving behind a fragile and out of form Arsenal.
All of that said, with a reputation restored, there are certainly worse candidates out there to succeed Klopp at Anfield than the impressive 52-year-old who was hailed a ‘tactical genius’ by former Premier League star Jay Bothroyd this weekend.
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