Manchester United have seriously considered Unai Emery as a possible replacement for Michael Carrick. Fabrizio Romano says their interest prompted Aston Villa to accelerate talks over a new contract.
Emery is considered a key figure in Villa's project, and the club's leadership want to secure his long-term future.
Romano said important talks took place on Wednesday, immediately after the Champions League match against Barcelona:
He is now at a very advanced stage of talks with Aston Villa over a new contract.
Everything could be finalised at any moment, because Wednesday was the key day for private meetings and direct contact.
After the Barcelona match, Villa's leadership met Unai Emery. I mean the club chairman and directors, including Damian Vidagany and Roberto Olabe.
They made progress in talks over a new agreement.
The offer is serious: the contract will be longer than his current one and will come with a higher salary.
Emery will retain the same level of influence over transfer decisions, including departures, signings, targets and overall strategy.
This model works very well at Aston Villa because Unai is involved in everything, the club chairman is involved, and Roberto Olabe and Damian Vidagany are doing an excellent job.
They all work together.
Romano also explained why Villa had decided to accelerate talks now:
There is one reason: Manchester United have been watching Unai Emery's situation very closely.
I have said several times that some very important and influential people at United consider Emery one of the ideal managers — perhaps even the ideal manager — for the club's future project.
This was not just talk.
Manchester United genuinely considered and continue to consider Unai Emery one of the best candidates for the role.
But I have always said that Emery is unavailable because Aston Villa trust him, want to keep him and have no intention of letting him go.
That is especially true in the middle of the season, but the club also want to continue working with him in the summer.
So if Villa are acting now, it means Manchester United's interest was much more concrete than media reports might have suggested.
According to Romano, Villa want to put an end to the possibility of their manager leaving:
Aston Villa have built a very high wall around Emery from the first minute.
Now they are offering him a new contract to close off all opportunities for other clubs and continue the project with him as a key figure.
The club know that Unai is very happy at Aston Villa.
They know he loves the club and the level of influence he has there.
It is very difficult to find that kind of structure elsewhere, where the manager is involved in absolutely everything.
The new contract is now at a very advanced stage, and Villa want to finalise everything as soon as possible.
In the end, that should also block the possibility of Manchester United going after Emery.
Carrick eased the pressure on himself a little after the 3-2 comeback against Roma, but the situation surrounding his future remains uncertain.
Against that backdrop, Villa's desire to reach an agreement with Emery as quickly as possible looks like a direct response to United's interest.
