Aston Villa announce surprise new manager ahead of Saturday's trip to Newcastle - Official

Aston Villa have announced the sudden appointment of former Newcastle United target Unai Emery, confirming his arrival as Steven Gerrard's replacement.

That said, the Spaniard won't take over until November 1st - a few days after our clash with Aston Villa this Saturday - as he's waiting for the formalities to be completed regarding a work permit.

Once the takeover had been completed and Steve Bruce was inevitably dismissed, the search for a new head coach quickly began, and the former Arsenal boss was said to be top of our list. 

Despite ‘missing out’ on our reported first choice, under Eddie Howe we have gone from strength to strength and currently sit in a Champions League position after just one home defeat in 2022. 

The 44-year-old has massively exceeded expectations so far and has the team performing far greater than any Newcastle fan could’ve imagined under Emery.

Let's hope we can get one over the Villains this weekend, with it promising to be a tougher test now they have a new manager to impress off the back of Sunday's 4-0 win over Brentford!