Aston Villa recently announced that Unai Emery will be their new manager following the recent sacking of Steven Gerrard.

While the Spaniard will have some games to take charge of before the January transfer window opens, one figure that we feel would be a dream first signing for him at Villa would be Arnaut Danjuma.

The Midlands club have been linked with a move for the winger in the past before he made his move to Villarreal, who Emery has just left to join Villa.

After scoring 17 goals and providing eight assists in 52 appearances for AFC Bournemouth, the 25-year-old joined his current club back in the 2021 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £21.3m.

Since then, the Dutchman has scored 19 goals in 43 appearances for the Spanish club across all competitions.

In addition to scoring 10 goals across the 23 La Liga appearances he made last season, the 25-year-old also managed to end his debut campaign at Villarreal with more shots at goal (59) than any other player at the club as well as the joint-highest number of dribbles that ended with an attempt at goal (10).

This highlights the attacking talent he has and what he’d be able to offer Villa should he make a return to England and follow Emery to the Midlands club.

Hailed as an “exceptional” player by Jonathan Woodgate, Danjuma could be just what Villa need in an attacking sense as only three clubs have a lower rate of goals per shot than them (0.07) in the league this season.

Bearing in mind how Villa’s owners have not been shy in the past when it has come to spending money on bringing new players to the club, this should fill a lot of supporters, and Emery, with confidence that the club will splash the cash to help Emery take the team forward.

In terms of a potential future move for the £25k-per-week attacker, if an opportunity to sign him arises in the next January transfer window, this is definitely something that Villa and Emery should explore.