After heavy speculation that Aston Villa were set to appoint Mateu Alemany in a key role this summer, it has now been reported that will not be the case.
As per Fabrizio Romano on May 3, an agreement had been reached between the two parties and the expectation was that a contract would be signed to make it official, with Alemany continuing at Barcelona until the summer before taking up his new role with us.
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Further, Barcelona confirmed his departure in a club statement, and so it appeared as though Villa were set to make a key appointment as part of the restructuring of the management set-up at the club this summer.
However, Romano now reports that Alemany is expected to perform a U-turn and stay with the Catalan giants, and although there was an agreement in principle with Villa, no contract had been signed as of yet and so it appears as though the move is now off.
It’s a disappointing update given the optimism and excitement that was building with such a potential appointment given Alemany’s experience and pedigree at the top level in a directorial role, but it looks as though our search will continue as we look to bring in an influential figure to help Unai Emery moving forward.
Villa have been linked with other names in Spain prior to the Alemany speculation, and so time will tell if we return to one of those individuals or if a new option emerges in the coming weeks, if we are indeed committed to making the appointment.
Emery will no doubt have an important say in the decision as ultimately we’re looking to provide him with support in building the squad that he wants while also making improvements off the pitch, and so it will be fascinating to see if we can recruit an even better option moving forward, or one that is perhaps a better fit for us.
