James Carragher has reignited the Unai Emery-to-Manchester United debate, but the former Aston Villa scout Bryan King says money would be the only reason Emery leaves Villa. United are also dealing with mounting pressure on Michael Carrick after a difficult start to the season, while Emery has sounded settled at Villa Park.

Carragher's case for United

Speaking to Mirror, James Carragher argued that Emery is the kind of manager United should be looking at. He said: "He is a manager I look at when I think about Manchester United. I think Emery is the best manager in the Premier League. But I've got this thing with him. Yes, his record in the Europa League is amazing, but surely somebody who is that successful wants to be known in the Champions League. He wants to win the Champions League. He's not going to do that at Aston Villa."

That is the case for the move, at least in football terms. Emery has the reputation, the European pedigree and, by Carragher's logic, the size of job that United would want if they decide to change direction again.

Villa's stronger hand

The harder part of the argument is that Villa do not look like a club inviting a manager to leave. Emery attended the recent Ballon d'Or awards wearing an Aston Villa-embroidered suit alongside senior club figures, and Villa's numbers under him are strong enough to give him a very comfortable seat. They have a 73% win rate under Emery after their 44th match last week against Viking FK.

The results back that up. Villa are second in the Champions League league phase with 9 points from 3 matches, and ninth in the Premier League with 11 points from 8 matches. In Europe, they have also won 11 of their 15 games under Emery. That is not the sort of environment that usually pushes a manager toward the exit.

King's line is the bluntest counter to Carragher's theory. "The only thing that would make him leave would be money," he said. Emery has said the same kind of thing in softer language. "Dreams are free. Everyone has to dream. I have my dream and I am here getting my dream," he told Mirror.

United can admire Emery all they want, but the evidence around Villa suggests they would need more than admiration to move him. With Villa sitting top two in Europe and Emery publicly describing Villa as his dream, the pressure is on United to make any approach count, starting with Chelsea next and then Roma before the international break.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →