Why Unai Emery was ‘upset’ with Newcastle, he had one big concern

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Unai Emery is expected to snub Premier League strugglers Newcastle United and stay at Villarreal after being left frustrated about the way the links became public, as reported by The Guardian.

It’s hard not to be reminded of the Nuno Espirito Santo saga at Tottenham Hotspur as Newcastle’s pursuit of a head coach goes on.

It seemed there was a glint of light at the end of a long and winding tunnel when reports emerged yesterday suggesting Emery was on his way to St James’ Park.

According to the Daily Mail, Amanda Staveley was confident a deal would be agreed. The former Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain coach was expected to be on the sidelines for Saturday’s trip to a Brighton side that thumped Newcastle 3-0 in their last two meetings.

The picture changed substantially just a few hours later, however. And how typical for long-suffering Newcastle supporters. Just as the sun threatened to break through the clouds, a flash flood washed the optimism away.

No Unai Emery to Newcastle United – so who’s next on the manager list?

Speaking after Villarreal’s 2-0 Champions League group-stage victory over BSC Young Boys last night, Emery confirmed Newcastle had expressed an interest in hiring him before playing down speculation he was about to turn his back on his La Liga employers (Marca).

And, according to the Spanish football oracle who is Guillem Balague, the deal now appears to be dead in the water. A breakdown in talks has pushed Newcastle back to square one – much to the relief of Villarreal president Fernando Roig.

Whoever gets the Newcastle job now – be that Eddie Howe, Frank Lampard or someone else – will find themselves in a similar situation to the one Nuno discovered at Tottenham.

Everybody knows he, whoever that may be, was far from the club’s first choice, which threatens to undermine them from day one.

It’s believed Emery was left “upset” by the way the rumours became public. The 49-year-old – who has four Europa League winner’s medals adorning a highly impressive CV – also had concerns about who would fill the director of football and chief executive roles at St James’ Park.

Newcastle are understood to be looking at bringing in a director of football – Antero Henrique, Luis Campos and Ralf Rangnick have been linked – but, like their pursuit of a head coach, it seems an agreement is some way off.