Aston Villa are interested in former Tottenham and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino as a possible replacement for Steven Gerrard.
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Steven Gerrard is preparing for games against Fulham, at Craven Cottage on Thursday, and Brentford, at Villa Park on Sunday, that could seal his fate.
Even if he survived a defeat by Fulham, it is thought Aston Villa would have to beat Brentford to give Gerrard any chance of avoiding the sack – although even that may prove to be a stay of execution.
Mauricio Pochettino is the number one choice for Aston Villa
As per reports, Mauricio Pochettino is Aston Villa’s number one choice to replace Steven Gerrard. Understand contact has already been made between Pochettino’s representatives and Aston Villa, and suggestions are that the 50 year old is keen on returning to the Premier League.
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Co-owner Nassif Sawiris is expected to lead any process, with co-owner Wes Eden’s, chief executive Christian Purslow and sporting director Johan Lange all heavily involved.
But Villa will face a huge task to convince Mauricio Pochettino to resume his coaching career, given he has spent his past six years in management in the Champions League at Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, and has worked with some of the biggest stars in world football.
That will not stop Villa trying to move heaven and earth to tempt him, with the timing of Gerrard’s dismissal also likely to be impacted by the need to line up a replacement. Villa would almost certainly be prepared to wait for Pochettino if he unexpectedly showed any interest in the job, but did not want to make an immediate commitment.
Were he to reject an approach, more ambitious checks could be made on former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel, who is out of work, and ex-Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who is in charge of Villarreal, with Villa needing a distinguishable step up on Gerrard and the right man to help deliver the vision of the owners.
Purslow is often credited with being in charge of managerial decisions at Aston Villa, such as the one to sack Dean Smith and replace him with Gerrard, who he knew from their time together at Liverpool, last November.
Steven Gerrard saw his team produce one of their best performances of the season in the 2-0 defeat by Chelsea on Sunday, but the club sit one point above the bottom three.
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