Steven Gerrard namechecks Wolves to reveal Aston Villa's grand plan

Steven Gerrard wants Aston Villa to take inspiration from Wolverhampton Wanderers as they bid to close the gap on the Premier League’s elite.

Villa have been among the biggest spenders in the Premier League since they were promoted back in 2019, with owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens spending in excess of £400million on transfers. The owners targeted a return to Europe this season but a run of four straight defeats has left Villa in 15th position in the table.

Gerrard was backed in January with the £25million arrival of left-back Lucas Digne and the costly loan acquisition of Philippe Coutinho, plus low-cost signings Robin Olsen and Calum Chambers. More money is expected to be thrown at Villa’s problems in the summer to help Gerrard find solutions.

Villa need to bridge a 13-point gap to West Midlands rivals Wolves, who are competing with West Ham, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham for the remaining European places. And ex-Rangers manager Gerrard is taking belief from the work of Bruno Lage, as well as Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City and West Ham boss David Moyes.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast, Gerrard said: “I have normally been at a team where we win the majority of games, but you can’t always have it that way and sometimes you’ve got to be in the know and realise this is the group of players that I have got.

"We’ve got real good potential, but how can we go and grab some of the high positions off the teams that have gone and done it, like West Ham, Brighton, Wolves have gone up there. With a couple of windows and the right support, why can’t that be Villa?”

Asked if his ambition is to replicate the success of the likes of Leicester, Gerrard replied: “Certainly the job Brendan has done at