Newcastle United’s move for Unai Emery blew up in flames on Wednesday.
Just 24 hours earlier, it looked like the Magpies had their man. There were even reports that Emery was going to manage the side against Brighton on Saturday.
But those plans went up in smoke in the early hours of Wednesday as news started to filter through that this wasn’t the done deal we thought it was.
Then came confirmation from the horse’s mouth, as Emery released a statement stating he would be staying in Spain with Villarreal.
Now Newcastle will need to look elsewhere, as details about the Unai Emery collapse start to come out in the press.
Newcastle reportedly surprised by Emery U-turn
According to the Daily Mail, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi were surprised when Emery decided to reject a move to St James’ Park.
It was claimed by a source that the club made Emery a ‘fantastic’ offer, providing everything he wanted to move to Newcastle.
The Times have gone into more detail, stating that wages and backroom staff had been agreed with the former Arsenal boss. The owners were reportedly ‘staggered’ by Emery’s change of heart.
Surprised, staggered – it’s basically saying the same thing.
Both the Daily Mail and the Times had reported that Emery was going to be in charge for the Brighton game. Now it looks like the owners are trying to save face a bit after an embarrassing turn of events.
The Emery collapse was a blow for fans, and it’s made the new Toon owners look a little bit silly.
They’re bound to make mistakes. They’ve never ran a football club before. Errors are to be expected.
But when you’re running the richest club in the world after one of the most shocking takeovers in the history of the game, every move you make will be put under the microscope and torn apart.
Things will improve, but Wednesday will have been a rough day for the Newcastle United consortium.
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