Real Madrid: Emery ‘asks’ for ‘perfect’ Aston Villa star to replace Los Blancos hero in ‘controversial’ move

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·30 January 2026

Real Madrid: Emery ‘asks’ for ‘perfect’ Aston Villa star to replace Los Blancos hero in ‘controversial’ move

Unai Emery has told Real Madrid chiefs that he would insist on the ‘controversial’ sale of a key player if he’s to take the reins at the Bernabeu and wants an Aston Villa star as a replacement.

Alvaro Arbeloa has replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm after the former Bayer Leverkusen boss was sacked earlier this month, but Arbeloa is already under significant pressure having lost two of his first five games in charge, including the dramatic 4-2 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League, which ensured they will have to win a play-off to reach the last 16.

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Jurgen Klopp has been heavily linked with taking over at the end of the season but has made no suggestion he’s willing to return to management, which has led to reports claiming Emery – who’s done an outstanding job with Aston Villa – is president Florentino Perez’s top target.

Journalist Ramon Alvarez de Mon revealed on Thursday that Emery is the ‘best positioned’ to take over with talks already taking place.

He wrote on X: ‘If Real Madrid were to decide on a coaching change at the end of the season, Unai Emery would be the best positioned. There have already been conversations in recent days to gauge his availability. More details on the channel.’

And now Spanish outlet Nacional have revealed two of Emery’s demands if he was to leave Villa for Madrid.

The first is ‘as forceful as it is controversial’ as he ‘asks to open the exit door to Vinicius’ as he wants to ‘build the Real Madrid offensive around Kylian Mbappe’.

But he doesn’t want Mbappe to play as the centre-forward as he has done so far for Madrid, but to come from the left – where Vinicius currently plays – as he did for Paris Saint-Germain, with the aim of then modifying the role of the central striker to be more of a false nine.

Emery believes that the change of role for Mbappe means Vinicius ‘cannot continue in the club’ and that Real Madrid ‘would gain more balance if one of the two is not there’.

The report adds that Emery believes Villa star Morgan Rogers would ‘fit perfectly’ as the false nine in the Los Blancos attack.

The report adds:

‘The sale of the Brazilian would allow a very high amount to be paid, free up payroll and, above all, finance the key signing of Emery’s project. The coach considers that the team needs a different profile in attack, someone capable of playing between lines, fixing crosses without being a classic nine and empowering arriving midfielders like Bellingham. ‘That soccer player would be Morgan Rogers. The Aston Villa striker is a personal bet of Emery, who has been key in his explosion this season. Under his orders, Rogers has become a differential player, capable of playing as a false nine, midfielder or inside winger. And it has shades of world crack. Emery believes that Morgan Rogers would fit perfectly in Real Madrid, occupying that hybrid role that would allow Mbappé to dominate the left without losing depth inside.’