Aston Villa to panic as Unai Emery could reunite with Real Madrid superstar he loves

Unai Emery could soon be in charge of one of the biggest clubs in world football after years of success at Aston Villa.

Already, the Villa boss has been named as a potential Arne Slot replacement at Anfield, with his side currently sitting third in the Premier League table, four points behind Arsenal.

A lot has been made about his future, especially given some of the hurdles that he has been forced to overcome when it relates to transfers at Villa Park.

PSR is often seen as an issue for Villa, seeing Emery add the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Harvey Elliott to the squad on loan in recent windows.

In fact, Elliott's game time is so low because of financial reasons, and the fact that a permanent clause could be triggered should he make too many appearances.

Unai Emery has emerged as a contender for the Real Madrid job

Despite all of this, his team continue to cause problems in the Premier League and in Europe, currently sitting third in the former, as well as second in the Europa League tables.

He continues to defy expectations, but that only makes the rumours of his impending departure grow stronger.

Emery is the favourite to take over at Real Madrid, with Alvaro Arbeloa in charge after the sacking of Xabi Alonso, and that move could see him reunite with one of his former stars.

During his time at PSG, the Villa boss encouraged Kylian Mbappe to sign for the Ligue 1 giants [Football Espana], as well as persuading the superstar not to join Real Madrid, though he would eventually in 2024.

The Aston Villa boss has made his love for Kylian Mbappe very clear

Emery clearly has a profound respect for the French international, who has already netted 80 goals in 88 appearances for Los Blancos, predicting him to be "the best player in the world" back in 2020 [Tribuna].

There is a clear opportunity for him to work with the 27-year-old again, and it could be rather difficult for him to turn it down should the 15-time Champions League winners come calling for his signature.

Of course, that would mean bringing an end to his three-year-plus stay at Villa Park, where he has already accomplished so much, but it would leave supporters absolutely crushed.

Very few would be able to blame him for swapping the East Midlands for the Spanish capital, but it would cause a huge rift at Villa Park, and one that may take a while to repair.