Aston Villa: 50 y/o manager 'interested in Premier League return' at Villa Park

Aston Villa would land a manager with a background in ‘managing elite players’ if they replaced Steven Gerrard with Mauricio Pochettino and it would be ‘strange’ to ignore the Argentinian at Villa Park, according to Dean Jones.

Gerrard was handed more than £60 million to bolster his squad in the summer transfer window but he may well be running out of time in the West Midlands.

According to Football Insider, the Liverpool legend’s position has been the subject of discussions at the club recently.

The report adds that owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are concerned by the lack of improvement seen under Gerrard after poaching him from Rangers nearly a year ago.

The news comes after chants for the manager to be sacked were heard from Villa fans as they drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Monday night.

The club are understood to have already begun the process of sourcing a replacement for Gerrard, with Pochettino and Unai Emery sounded out as options if they decide to make a change.

The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss is reportedly open to taking the job at Villa Park and is willing to look at opportunities outside of the Champions League.

Jones believes it would be ‘strange’ if Sawiris and Edens were to ignore the opportunity to potentially bring a manager of such calibre in.

The journalist adds that Pochettino has an interest in returning to the English top flight and would arrive at Villa Park with high expectations.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “While Pochettino is out there with an interest in returning to the Premier League it would be pretty strange not to consider that as a good next option. That’s a boss who has high expectations but with a strong background too in managing elite