Aston Villa confirm new agreement that will delight Unai Emery

Aston Villa have announced a new collaborative partnership with Spanish third-tier outfit Real Unión, pleasing Unai Emery due to his financial and emotional connections with the club. Villa's head coach bought a controlling stake in Unión back in June 2021, helping the Basque side following a difficult few years.

Emery's father, Juan, made 15 appearances for Unión between 1957 and 1959, whereas Emery's grandfather, Antonio, played 110 times for the club as a goalkeeper. It has become a family tradition and now Villa's owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, have decided to support Emery by forming a new partnership.

Unión have a strong history as they were one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's leading division. Unión also won the Copa del Rey on three occasions back in 1918, 1924 and 1927. They are yet to win any major trophies since then but the hope is for Villa and Emery to one day help change that.

The agreement made is similar to those of V Sports' existing affiliates Vissel Kobe, ZED FC and Vitória Sport Clube in Japan, Egypt and Portugal respectively. The aim is to develop technical and coaching methodology, while also collaborating by sharing performance and data.