A prominent part of Emery's managerial success is how he can transfer his messages onto players - it has worked a treat at Aston Villa

Aston Villa have one foot in the quarter-finals of European football's premier club competition after a 3-1 win over Club Brugge in Belgium, with the second leg at Villa Park to come next week

Aston Villa have been credited with an interest in Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton ahead of the summer transfer window. Wharton came through the ranks at boyhood club Blackburn Rovers before moving to Selhurst Park a little over 12 months ago and he has made a seamless step up the life in the Premier League.

Unai Emery has taken Aston Villa into the Champions League round of 16, where their match against Club Brugge will see the former Villarreal manager hit a new milestone

Aston Villa will take a lead home after their Champions League win over Club Brugge on Tuesday evening - with further progression in the competition a real possibility thanks to some top performances - and some fans in the Birmingham Live comments section have been wowed by one new arrival in particular.

"We are not in the quarter-final. There's still 90 minutes to play, we're ready in case we need extra-time and penalties because I know how difficult it is in each match and how we can change one match in 90 minutes. "The players - I'm sure they have experiences before as well with matches like that and we have to respect the opponent always.

Despite their two-goal advantage in the tie, the Spaniard insisted that his team should not think they have already reached the quarter-finals stages of the competition

Unai Emery singled out Tyrone Mings for praise after his key contributons in the win over Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium

Emery conceded Club Brugge "deserved" to beat Villa in the Champions League group stage in November because his side "didn't compete like we want to do". He is hopeful Villa will "feel strong" and "compete better" this time.