Man Utd's Unai Emery appointment enquiry that led to Ruben Amorim decision

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Manchester United reportedly made an enquiry over Aston Villa manager Unai Emery before appointing Ruben Amorim last season. The Portuguese coach replaced Erik ten Hag in the hot seat at Old Trafford in November 2024.

But after 14 months in charge of the club, he was sacked by the United hierarchy last week . It came following an explosive post-match press conference after the 1-1 Premier League draw with Leeds United .

Since making the decision, United have been on the lookout for a replacement. They have made the decision to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season before making a more permanent appointment in the summer.

Caretaker manager Darren Fletcher has taken charge of the last two matches - a 2-2 draw with Burnley in the Premier League and a 2-1 defeat against Brighton in the FA Cup third round.

United are expected to make an interim appointment ahead of the Premier League clash against Manchester City on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off). Michael Carrick is now the favourite to return to the club , with the former Middlesbrough boss holding more talks today (Monday).

While it seems that progress is being made on the appointment until the end of the season, there is still uncertainty about who may take the reins in the summer. The Daily Mail suggests that Emery may be of interest.

United are reported to have made contact with Villa over the manager before they appointed Amorim. With the Spanish boss continuing to impress, it’s likely that the interest will still be there.

However, there is expected to be ‘obstacles’ to any appointment. Unsurprisingly, Villa will fight hard to keep hold of the manager who has led them to Champions League qualification.

That would make any deal very expensive to complete. It is added that Emery is a manager who likes complete control at a football club.

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Amorim’s resistance against a lack of autonomy was one of the reasons behind his exit from Old Trafford. It’s therefore likely to need structural changes at United if an appointment of Emery is possible.

The former Arsenal boss has been with Villa since replacing Steven Gerrard in November 2022. He has been praised for the job he has done at Villa Park, with the team currently sitting in third place in the Premier League table.

Among the other names linked with a potential permanent move to United in the summer are Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner , Fulham’s Marco Silva and former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez. Reports in Spain suggest the latter may be open to joining United .

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