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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has extended his contract with the club until 2027.
Villa were 16th in the Premier League and fighting relegation when the Spaniard took over from Steven Gerrard in November 2022.
In a remarkable turnaround, Emery, now 52, guided Villa to a seventh-place finish to qualify for the Europa Conference League, the club’s first participation in European football since 2010–11.
This season, they sit fourth in the Premier League with Champions League qualification in their sights. They are six points clear of Tottenham, who have two games in hand.
Emery said he and his backroom staff “share the vision of the owners” and have “the right structure to develop this football club”.
“We must maintain the hard-working spirit, clever decisions and co-ordination with the ownership that we have found during this time,” he added.
“We will work to get better and better. And we will demand from each other. Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project.”
Villa have triggered an option to extend Emery’s deal in this instance and will sit down with the manager in the summer to discuss a long-term contract, BBC Sport understands.
Emery’s position could be significantly strengthened if he delivers the Europa Conference League trophy and Champions League football.
The situation as it stands should mean Villa can see off any potential interest from Bayern Munich, and possibly other European clubs, to keep their manager in Birmingham.
Villa chairman Nassef Sawiris said: “We are thrilled and are building a sporting operation around Unai to support him with a view of returning Aston Villa, a co-founder of the English Football League as we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary, to its historic levels of greatness.”
Renowned for his expertise in European competition, Emery has steered Villa into a semi-final in the Conference League, where they will face Greek side Olympiakos with the hope of reaching a first European final since 1982.
Emery won the Europa League in three consecutive seasons with Sevilla before also lifting the trophy in 2021 with Villarreal.
He spent 18 months in charge of Arsenal, which was widely considered to be unsuccessful as the Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League and reached the 2019 Europa League final, where they lost to Chelsea.
The job he has done in turning around Villa’s fortunes has undoubtedly been remarkable.
He has accumulated 115 points in the Premier League since his appointment. Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have managed more.
Emery has the best points-per-game record of any Villa manager in the Premier League era (1.95 per game), achieving 35 wins in 59 games (59%).
Villa take on Chelsea, Brighton, Liverpool and Crystal Palace in their final four league matches this season as they continue their bid to compete in Europe’s top competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
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