According to Football Insider, Dean Smith’s future as Aston Villa manager is far from secure, and club CEO Christian Purslow has identified his replacement.
Purslow has a strong interest in luring Rangers manager Steven Gerrard to the Premier League on behalf of owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris.
The Villa Park outfit want the Liverpool legend ahead of the summer transfer window, but whether the Light Blues boss is keen on a move remains to be seen.
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Gerrard guided Rangers to their first Scottish Premiership title in a decade a couple of weeks ago, and he wants to manage in the Premier League someday.
He has been widely tipped to become Liverpool manager in the future, and Purslow is keen to hand him his first gig in the English top-flight.
Having stopped Celtic’s domestic dominance in Scotland, Gerrard is most likely looking forward to helping Rangers retain their title next season.
The Reds legend and all of his backroom staff put pen-to-paper on new five-year deals last December, and buying out their contracts will not come cheaply.
Smith narrowly led Villa to safety last term, and they were strongly pushing for a top-six finish until skipper Jack Grealish got injured.
They have won two of the last seven Premier League games that the England international has missed, losing three and drawing twice.
Villa are currently ninth in the table with nine games to play, and only a significant number of victories on the run-in will boost their chances of finishing in the top seven.
Smith has done fairly well since leading the side to promotion two seasons ago, and replacing him ahead of next season would be a little harsh.
In other news, England international will reportedly consider Villa exit this summer.
