Five former players Unai Emery could target as Newcastle manager – opinion

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It’s looking increasingly likely that former Arsenal manager Unai Emery will be the man to replace Steve Bruce as Newcastle United manager.

Following two games in interim charge for Graeme Jones, it looks like the Saudi-led consortium have narrowed their search down to two: Emery and Eddie Howe.

But the Villarreal manager and Europa League specialist, Emery, looks to be the man heading to St James’ Park and could even be possibly in charge for Saturday’s trip to Brighton.

With Emery facing a huge battle to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, the Spaniard may look to bring in some players to Tyneside who he has previously managed.

Here are some players that Emery has managed that he may look to sign as Newcastle boss….

Frances Coquelin

Although Coquelin never played under Emery at Arsenal, the Frenchman was bought from Valencia last summer and joined Emery at Villarreal.

The 30-year-old has played frequently for the Yellow Submarine and with his previous Premier League experience, he could be a perfect option for Emery to bolster Newcastle’s central midfield options.

Arnaut Danjuma

The former Bournemouth man only joined Emery in the summer, but he has proved to be a tremendous signing for the Champions League side.

The Dutchman has six goals and two assists from 13 games in all competitions this season.

After a stellar start to life playing under Emery, Danjuma could be targeted to play on the opposite wing to Allan Saint-Maximin.

William Saliba

Despite being signed by Emery during his time at the Gunners two years ago, Saliba is yet to make his Arsenal debut and is currently on loan at Marseille.

Unless Mikel Arteta offers Saliba assurances of his place at Arsenal, the French under-21 international could be tempted to leave London for Tyneside to play under Emery.

Newcastle’s backline requires a major overhaul and signing Saliba could prove to be high on Emery’s wish list.

Julian Draxler

After being brought to the French capital for big money by Emery, the German international has been in and out of the Paris Saint Germain side.

In a star-studded team, if everyone is fit and available, Draxler will be one of the players who has to make way for the big names.

Capable of playing in a number of attacking positions, the World Cup winner would bring a much-needed injection of quality to our forward line.

Alexandre Lacazette

During his time as Arsenal manager, the only player who scored more goals under Emery than Lacazette (23) was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (41).

With the Frenchman’s contract set to expire in June, Emery could look to take the goalscoring burden off Callum Wilson by bringing Lacazette to the Toon.

The former Lyon striker has been in and out-of-favour under Arteta, but he could potentially have a pivotal role in Emery’s Newcastle side.