Marcelino, Pochettino, Gallardo? Villarreal's options to replace Emery

Villarreal are looking for a new coach after Unai Emery agreed to leave the club to join Premier League side Aston Villa on Monday.

They were aware of talks between Emery and Villa last week and have been thinking about who they could replace him with.

Mauricio Pochettino and Marcelino García Toral are the early favourites for president Fernando Roig, while Marcelo Gallardo is another option.

However, it will not be easy to appoint either of the first two. The cost of Pochettino, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach, could be prohibitive even though he is out of work, while Marcelino, who has previously coached Villarreal, is waiting to see what will happen with the Spain job after the World Cup.

Gallardo, meanwhile, has already confirmed that he is leaving River Plate and his next job is expected to be in Europe, probably in Spain.