A few players managed to thrive after reuniting with Aston Villa boss, Unai Emery, before Nicolas Jackson.

Aston Villa’s win over Manchester City has put Nicolas Jackson on the spotlight. The Senegalese had been tagged as Chelsea reject, the unwanted frontman in Stamford Bridge, especially under Enzo Maresca, the current Manchester City boss. He was loaned out to Bayern last season but Die Roten did not opt to sign him permanently too. No wonder that his brace in Villa’s 2-1 victory has brought a revelation to the 25-year old striker.

Unai Emery’s decision to sign him for £ 65 million just because of the Spaniard’s experience working with him previously was considered to be rather risky. Yet, Emery knows what he is doing and now he is able to prove that Jackson can thrive again. He has been reliable upfront and netted seven goals in 11 games so far. He is even regarded as an upgrade of Ollie Watkins.

Jackson is definitely not the first name who shines under Emery after their reunion. There have been others who have worked together with the Basque boss twice. Mostly, they were already key men in both spells together. Only a few managed to do like what the former Villareal man does this season. Here are two figures who thrived after reuniting with the current Aston Villa manager.

Dani Parejo

The 37-year-old midfielder worked together with Unai Emery in Valencia and Villareal. He joined Los Ches in 2011 when he was 22 years old from Getafe. At that time, Parejo was not the first choice instantly in Valencia. He was mainly utilized in a rotation.

During his stint in Mestalla, the product of Real Madrid academy only featured in 30 games, registering one assist without a single goal in the 2011/12, Emery’s last season with Valencia. He was part of the squad when they reached semifinal in UEFA Cup before losing to the eventual winner, Atletico Madrid.

In 2020, or nine years later, Parejo signed for The Yellow Submarine to reunite with Emery on free transfer. He was 31 years old at that time but still contributed heavily for Villareal’s triumphant campaign in Europa League in 2021. The midfielder with only four international caps made 105 appearances under Emery, scoring six times and providing 62 assists. He was still able to help his team reach semifinal in the Champions League 2022.

Nicolas Pareja

The former defender was the second one who thrived under Emery after their reunion. Pareja first worked together in Spartak Moscow in 2012/13 season. He was only making 10 appearances with the Russian Premier League outfit. Emery was dismissed too as Villans do not lingerie

The Argentine then reunited with Emery in the following season in Sevilla, initially on loan deal. Pareja’s form with the Andalusian side was better. He was able to help his team clinch their third Europa League in the 2014. The versatile defender then sealed a permanent move afterwards. Overall, the former Anderlecht man played 81 times under the Spaniard gaffer, bagging three goals and setting up twice.