Villa extend Emery's contract until 2027 after steady improvement

Aston Villa have agreed to a new contract extension with manager Unai Emery that will keep him at the club until 2027, the Premier League side said on Tuesday.

The Spaniard joined Villa in October 2022 and helped them finish seventh in the Premier League, their best campaign since 2009-10. They had finished 14th in the previous season.

This season Villa are aiming for their first top-four finish in the league since 1995-96. They have also qualified for the Europa Conference League semi-finals, their first major European semi-final in 42 years.

"We must maintain the hard-working spirit, clever decisions and coordination with the ownership that we have found during this time," Emery said in a statement.

"Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project," the former Paris St Germain and Arsenal manager added.

Villa, who host Chelsea on Saturday, are fourth in the league with 66 points from 34 matches, six points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who have two games in hand.