The Lions confirmed the departure of fan-favorite Dean Smith earlier this week, putting an end to a remarkable spell that saw the Midlands side promoted and then consolidated to the Premier League. Steven Gerrard is Villa’s candidate of choice to replace Dean Smith, reports Goal.
Smith was relieved of his duties earlier this week after a string of defeats left them just two points above the relegation zone. The Englishman oversaw a remarkable transformation during his time in the Midlands, converting Aston Villa into a club worthy of Premier League status from the one he inherited languishing mid-table in the Championship.
Villa are now keen to bring in Rangers’ boss Gerrard to replace Smith. The ex-Liverpool man has overseen a sensational turn-around of his own in Scotland, where he led Rangers to a first league title in a decade, also ending rivals Celtics’ run of nine championship wins in a row.
Under Gerrard, Rangers went unbeaten in the league throughout the 2020/21 season but suffered failures in cup competitions; they were knocked out in the quarterfinals of both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup and failed to progress past the Round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League. Rangers are currently top of the table again in Scotland.
While the Glasgow-based outfit would want to hold on to Gerrard – who is contracted to the club until 2024 – they’d be powerless to prevent his departure should Villa pay a meagre compensation. The release clause in Gerrard’s contract is said to be somewhere in the region of 2.5 million pounds.
The report further states that the Liverpool legend would be open to the opportunity of managing in the Premier League. Whether or not he is allowed to bring key members of his backroom staff with him to England remains to be seen.
Apart from Gerrard, Aston Villa are also keeping tabs on Denmark national neam head coach Kasper Hjulmand, as well as Belgium’s Roberto Martinez. Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl, Brighton’s
Graham Potter, and former assistant manager John Terry are also on the list, reportedly.
