Sources: Aston Villa actively seeking sporting director backed by Unai Emery
Aston Villa are actively seeking a new sporting director - who has the Unai Emery's seal of approval, sources have told Football Insider.
Now, it is believed that Villa are assessing the market for a potential replacement who has the backing of new manager Emery.
The Spaniard is keen for Villa to bring in a proven operator who he can work with closely on transfers.
Owners Naseef Sawiris and Wes Edens are assessing Lange’s position going into the new year and weighing up whether he needs to be replaced.
Lange was appointed by Villa in July 2020 as the replacement for Jesus Garcia Pitarch, who had been sacked himself that month.
The Dane came with a brief to overhaul the club’s recruitment structure at all levels, improve the transfer policy and ease out the deadwood from a bloated squad.
But the club have failed to make the improvements to match the owners’ ambitions despite establishing themselves back in the Premier League.
They are 12th in the Premier League following Monday's defeat to Liverpool after finishing 14th and 11th in previous two campaigns.
As sporting director at Villa, Lange has been responsible for bringing in Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne, Leander Dendocker, Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings, Bertrand Traore, Morgan Sanson and Matty Cash for big fees.
Of those, only perhaps Cash could be considered an unqualified success, while of the rest Digne is the only guaranteed first-team starter.
Villa are moving towards a more sustainable model following £450m of transfer spending over the last four years.
Football Insider revealed last month (16 December) that the Midlands giants are poised to announce their first profit of the Edens and Sawiris era when they publish their next set of accounts.
That was due in large part to the sale of Jack Grealish to Man City for a British-record £100million, a move which allowed Villa to almost break even in the transfer market.
The expected news is a departure from Villa’s financial results in recent years – they recorded deficits of £37.3m, £99.2m, and £68.9m in the three seasons after Edens and Sawiris' investment vehicle NSWE first bought into the club.