Fabrizio Romano drops Unai Emery sack update after huge Aston Villa change

Tom Weber

• 24 Sep 2025 11:30 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Unai Emery does not have to worry about getting sacked despite the current upheaval at Aston Villa, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Birmingham club have endured a miserable summer. After a disappointing transfer window, marred by financial restrictions and panic buys, Aston Villa have yet to taste victory in this nascent season.

They have only scored two goals in six games, and the side looks a shadow of the team that took the Champions League by storm last season. Head coach Unai Emery, a man so obsessed with outsmarting his opponents, looks bereft of ideas.

The last few months have had consequences higher up at the club, too. President of football operations Monchi has left after facing heightened scrutiny and has been replaced by former Real Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe.

The appointment of Olabe is viewed as a 'significant coup,' but it remains to be seen how much of an impact he will actually have. One of the problems at Villa - and this was previously a strength rather than a weakness - is that Emery has full control over transfers.

Emery to be sacked?

Why is this now an issue? Because it essentially means that the sporting director and president of football operations are mere advisors to Emery rather than his superiors.

Instead of acting independently and assembling a long-term project that could potentially outlive the manager, they have to bring in the players the Spaniard wants.

History has shown that Emery prefers a win-now approach rather than building for the future. With things now seemingly coming unstuck, the current arrangement is increasingly setting off alarm bells.

Reports have suggested that Emery's future at Villa Park is in doubt given the poor start to the season, but transfer insider Fabrizio Romano insists that 'everything is under control.'

"At the moment, everything is under control with Unai," he told GIVEMESPORT. Whether this is good news for Aston Villa, only time will tell. Emery has a lot of credit in the bank, and rightfully so, but having an all-powerful manager is rarely a recipe for success these days.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store