When Aston Villa’s head coach Unai Emery met former manager Dean Smith before the team’s 11th straight home victory in the Premier
League against West Ham United, he expressed what most of the club’s supporters felt.
Emery shook hands with Smith, who was working at the game for Sky Sports, and said, “Thank you for everything,” before fielding any
questions.
It was a moment that struck a chord with Villa fans, who will witness this week’s matches against Manchester City and Arsenal test
Emery’s team’s top-four credentials, which were established by Smith.
Since taking over in October of last year, Emery has relied heavily on eight players that were bought and developed by Villa under Smith:
Emiliano Martínez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz, Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins, and Leon Bailey. Jacob Ramsey,
who had graduated from the academy, made his first-team debut thanks to Smith as well.
Smith remarks, “That was a really lovely touch from Unai and completely unexpected.” “I had previously seen him on my study tour for
my Professional License at Valencia. on my time at Brentford, we had a few preseason and League Cup matches against Arsenal.
“After the League Cup match, we had a nice conversation, and I even asked if I could go see what he was doing at Arsenal. There has
always been reciprocal respect since he quipped, “I think I should come in and see you, the way your team is playing.” I never had the
opportunity to see him again at Arsenal since I was hired by Villa shortly after.
“I examine Unai’s typical starting lineup, and I’m proud that it includes Emi Martínez, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn—whom Steve Bruce
signed but who performed exceptionally well for me—Douglas Luiz, and Ollie Watkins.”
Following their signing by Smith, Martínez, Cash, Mings, Douglas Luiz, and Watkins earned their senior debuts for their respective
national teams, while Konsa was selected for his first England call-up last month. It makes sense that the majority of them still refer to
Smith as “Gaffer,” including Jack Grealish, who is now at City but faces a suspension for Wednesday night’s match at Villa Park.
“I maintain communication with several of them. Dibu [Martínez], Jack, and Ezri—it’s always satisfying to see them included in the
national team lineups,” remarks Smith. “Seeing Ezri included in the most recent England team made me very happy.” I believe he is a
Rolls Royce of a musician since I have been hitting his drum for a very long period.
Similar to Ollie, whom I signed for £1.3 million from Exeter, I signed Ezri first for Brentford, then Charlton, and finally Villa. In the
opening game of the season, he committed a major error against Newcastle. I texted him, “It’s always what you do next.” He never makes
too many errors; instead, he just continues getting better.
Smith acknowledges that he cannot claim full responsibility for Douglas Luiz, who joined Villa for £15 million from City and is now valued
at around £100 million due to connections to both his previous team and Arsenal, who were unable to get him in a previous attempt.
Douglas Luiz took some time to adjust, and Smith thinks the reason he is doing so well today is because the Brazilian welcomed him in
English during that October West Ham game.
