Aston Villa have confirmed that head coach Unai Emery has signed a new contract with the club until the summer of 2027.
The Spaniard's terms were originally due to run until the end of the 2025-26 season, but he has signed a one-year extension amid the Lions' unexpected push for Champions League football.
Villa are currently on course to qualify for Europe's premier competition as they sit fourth in the Premier League table with 66 points, six better off than Tottenham Hotspur having played two games more.
Emery's side also possess a superior goal difference to Spurs, and they made history in 2023 with an astounding 15-match winning home run in the Premier League, including back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Arsenal.
The four-time Europa League winner has harnessed his continental experience to good effect this season too, as Villa beat Lille on penalties in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals to meet Olympiacos in the last four.
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Emery "enjoying" Aston Villa journey
Emery's exploits at Villa Park were believed to have attracted the attention of German giants Bayern Munich, who are on the lookout for a new manager ahead of Thomas Tuchel's exit at the end of the season.
Taking over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was also rumoured to be an option, but reports earlier on Tuesday claimed that Emery had snubbed outside interest to commit his future to the Lions.
Now, Villa have confirmed that the ex-Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain boss has signed on the dotted line, and he talked up the club's ambition for the future to avfc.co.uk.
"We are enjoying our way together with Villa fans, the club owners, management and this great group of players that we are proud of," the 52-year-old said.
"Me and the football management... we share the vision of the owners. Nassef [Sawiris] and Wes [Edens] are very supportive and respectful, and we have a good environment and the right structure to develop this football club.
Aston Villa are thrilled to announce head coach Unai Emery has agreed to a contract extension until 2027. ✍️
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 23, 2024
"We must maintain the hard-working spirit, clever decisions and coordination with the ownership that we have found during this time. 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."
Chairman expresses joy at Emery renewal
Villa chairman Nassef Sawiris also talked up Emery's renewal as the hierarchy bid to restore the West Midlands club to their previous levels of "greatness", adding: "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."
The Lions have won 44, drawn 14 and lost 19 of their 74 games under Emery's wing since the Spaniard replaced Steven Gerrard in 2022, one year after he won his fourth and most recent Europa League title with Villarreal.
No manager has as many triumphs in the competition as Emery, who won three in a row with Sevilla from 2014 to 2016 and also took Arsenal to the 2018-19 final, where they lost to Chelsea.
Villa are back in Premier League action at home to Chelsea on Saturday night, before hosting Olympiacos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final on May 2.
Ben Knapton
