Unai Emery involved in heated exchange with Aston Villa star ahead of Newcastle United clash
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Newcastle United v Aston Villa: Unai Emery and Youri Tielemans were involved in a heated exchange during Villa’s Europa League win over Fenerbahce.
TV cameras caught Aston Villa manager Unai Emery and midfielder Youri Tielemans involved in a heated disagreement during their clash with Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Villa emerged from Istanbul with three points in the bag and their progression to the Round of 16 secured with a game to spare. Jadon Sancho’s 25th minute strike was enough for the slender victory.
However, it was a moment between Emery and Tielemans that had fans and pundits alike talking post-match. The incident took place in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the match when the Belgian was substituted by his manager.
As Tielemans left the pitch to be replaced by George Hemmings, an irate Emery remonstrated with the midfielder and seemingly refused to shake his hand when offered. ‘What was that all about?’ commentator Mike Minay asked on TNT Sports in the seconds following the incident before Martin Keown said: ‘The manager and him… very strange’.
Well, Emery was, unsurprisingly, asked to explain what happened during his post-match press conference. However, a smiling Emery simply told TNT Sports: "He's my son."
Former Aston Villa defender Joleon Lescott, though, wasn’t too happy with Emery’s conduct: “It might be innocent, but I don't like that,” the former Villa defender said. “Regardless of what it was for, if it was the other way around and the player refused to shake his manager's hand, there would be uproar, and his mentality and professionalism would be questioned. I'm sure it's more innocent than it looks, but I don't like the look of it.”
Newcastle United v Aston Villa team news
Both the Magpies and Villans will head into Sunday’s Premier League match with a number of injury concerns having had just a few days to rest, recover and prepare for the game following their European exploits. Like their upcoming opponents, Newcastle were also victorious in midweek, defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-0 in the Champions League.
However, they left that game with fears over the fitness of their captain Bruno Guimaraes after he left the field of play with an ankle injury just before half-time. The Magpies are yet to win a Premier League game in which the Brazilian hasn’t featured since he made his full debut for the club four years ago.
Dan Burn and Will Osula are both doubtful this weekend, although they have returned to training this week. Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento, though, remain sidelined with ankle and hamstring injuries.
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Villa, meanwhile, will be without a couple of key midfield players for their trip to the north east. Boubacar Kamara is reportedly set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
John McGinn, an ever-reliable member of Emery’s starting XI, is also regarded as a major doubt this weekend after he limped off during Villa’s defeat to Everton on Sunday evening. There is good news for Emery, though, as he was able to welcome back Amadou Onana on Thursday night. Onana replaced Emi Buendia in the 75th minute out in Turkey.