Aston Villa agree deal with La Liga transfer guru to replace Monchi

Article updated at 13:41 following fresh developments.

Aston Villa and President of Football Operations Monchi appear set to part ways in the coming days, and the Villains are on the hunt for a replacement. Having delved into the Spanish transfer market on numerous occasions of late, they could do so again for their next transfer guru.

It appears confidence in Monchi has been worn down over the past year, with Unai Emery’s side struggling early on this season. The Sevilla legend and Villa are poised to terminate his contract after a little over two years of work together.

Aston Villa reach agreement with ex-Real Sociedad Sporting Director

Monchi’s replacement has not yet been made official, but according to Fabrizio Romano, one of the options on the table is former Real Sociedad Sporting Director Roberto Olabe. The Italian transfer journalist claims that Olabe is among their top candidates. Olabe has been out of work since leaving Real Sociedad this summer, although his departure was announced early last season, with manager Imanol Alguacil also resigning at the end of last season.

🚨🟣🔵 Understand Real Sociedad director Roberto Olabe is among top candidates for Aston Villa director job.

Internal talks ongoing to replace Monchi who will leave the club with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/QsjBMxkFT9

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 23, 2025

Since the initial report, David Ornstein has added that Villa have now reached a deal with the 57-year-old. It seems he will be installed as the next President of Football Operations.

Olabe’s record at Real Sociedad

Olabe put together an impressive body of work at La Real, spending seven years at the club. Together with Alguacil, he built a side that qualified for Europe six seasons in a row, qualified for the Champions League and lifted the Copa del Rey. Relying on a blend of academy talents and smart recruits, Olabe brought in young talents such as Martin Odegaard, Alexander Isak, Takefusa Kubo, Mikel Merino and Brais Mendez.

However in recent years, La Real’s struggles to find a striker to replace Alexander Isak have hampered their progress. The likes of Orri Oskarsson, Andre Silva, Alexander Sorloth, Umar Sadiq, Mohamed Ali-Cho and Carlos Fernandez have all come without success, spending €66.5m in the process of trying to do so – just €3.5m less than what they originally sold Isak for. All the same, Olabe is generally regarded highly, and was in the frame for the Arsenal job before Andrea Berta took over as their sporting director.