Steven Gerrard's huge Aston Villa decision after Newcastle defeat

Aston Villa were slow and sloppy throughout the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday, which left Steven Gerrard far from impressed with what he saw from his side.

Speaking after the game, the Villa boss stated: "A really bad day for us. I was surprised with the performance that we gave. There were no signs of that, certainly in the preparation.

"Look, collectively we need to improve. We've got a lot of work to do.

"We didn't deserve anything out of the game given the level of performance that we give. That's clear to me and some changes in the team need to happen as well."

Villa face Watford at home on Saturday and one of the first changes Gerrard will be faced with could be the position that has plagued him most whilst in charge of the club.

The holding midfielder role looked relatively settled upon his arrival in November, with Marvelous Nakamba reaching new heights that fans previously hadn't seen from the Zimbabwe international. However, after a severe knee injury, Villa have had to play Douglas Luiz in the role, who although capable, isn't a natural in the position.

Villa may, therefore, look at other options for the role, such as the experienced Morgan Sanson, who like Gerrard, was left slumped in his seat against Newcastle, as Carney Chukwuemeka was substituted ahead of him for the third game in a row.

Sanson has played in the holding role a total of 31 times in his career, with the majority of these games coming in a 4-2-3-1, as he operated in the double pivot with another midfielder. The lone holding role for Sanson may be unfamiliar, but given how the Villa midfield is currently struggling in this area, his skillset may be desired.

In the 2019/20 season where Sanson played 27 games for Marseille and