Villarreal CF is my home and I'm 100% committed, proclaims Unai Emery

Newcastle looks to usher in a new era at St James' Park following the takeover of the club by a Saudi-backed consortium from Mike Ashley. Speculation mounted that Steve Bruce would be terminated from his position as the new ownership wanted someone with a higher pedigree to take them to the summit of English football. Ultimately Bruce was allowed to take charge of Newcastle against Tottenham for his 1000th game in charge of club football.

The English manager left by mutual consent following the fixture and a search for Bruce's successor is underway at the Tyneside club. Several media outlets reported this week that Villarreal coach Unai Emery was seen as the frontrunner to occupy the vacant managerial post. Yet while Emery confirmed that Newcastle had approached him, but he reiterated that no formal offer had been made. Emery has now come out to clarify his future and confirmed his intentions to continue with the Spanish side.

“Villarreal CF is my home and I am 100% committed. Honestly, I am grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here and that is why I communicated to Fernando Roig my decision to want to continue being part of this project. No matter how much noise there was yesterday in another country, within the club there was transparency and loyalty with the Roig family and with my staff, which is maximum and for me that is the most important thing,” Emery said in a statement on his Twitter account.

"I want to thank the fans for the support they have always shown me. On Sunday we have a very important game and I hope that together we can achieve victory. See you at the Estadio de la Ceramica," he added.