Samuel Chukwueze gets former Barcelona manager as new coach at Villarreal

Barely 24 hours after losing Unai Emery to Premier League club Aston Villa, La Liga side Villarreal have announced the appointment of their new manager Quique Setien.

The arrival of the former Barcelona, Real Betis, and Las Palmas coach was announced on Tuesday shortly after the club had revealed that director of football Miguel Angel Tena handled the first-team training following the departure of Emery.

Emery on Monday was announced by Aston Villa as their new manager effective from November 1, following the sacking of Steven Gerrard.

He had led the Yellow Submarine to Europa League success by beating Manchester United in the final in 2021 as well as the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2022.

The La Liga club announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with the Santander-born coach to take charge of the squad for the remainder of the current season and the entirety of the subsequent one.

"Setién will take over the role as head coach at the Submarine alongside his assistant head coach Ramiro Amarelle and fitness coach Fran Soto," Villarreal said in their official announcement.

The Spaniard was named the front-runner after Quicio Pochettino reportedly denied the opportunity to be approached by the 2021 Europa League champions.

He had been out of a job since leaving Barcelona after only seven months in charge. Setien was dismissed in 2020 after losing 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

With the Yellow Submarine 7th in La Liga, Setien's main task will be to improve the team's league form.

Setien had garnered a reputation for attractive and successful football at Las Palmas and Real Betis, guiding the latter to the Europa League and which saw them grab a famous victory over AC Milan at San Siro.

He would be expected to work closely with red-hot Alex Baena, Jose Luis Morales, and Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze.