Aston Villa are hunting for a new manager after Steven Gerrard was relieved of his duties following Thursday’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham.
Gerrard leaves Villa teetering precariously above the relegation zone, having collected only nine points from 11 Premier League games this season.
Villa supporters were calling for Gerrard’s head towards the end of Thursday’s loss, singing “Steven Gerrard, get out of our club” in the direction of the away dugout.
So who might replace the 42-year-old at Villa Park?
Mauricio Pochettino
The Argentine has been out of work since being sacked by French side Paris St-Germain last July, despite winning the first trophies of his managerial career with the club.
Pochettino, 50, guided Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid, where they were beaten by Liverpool. He also lost the 2015 League Cup final to Chelsea before finishing runners-up to their London rivals in the Premier League in 2016-17.
He left Spurs after a disappointing start to the 2019-20 campaign.
Unai Emery
Unai Emery was Newcastle’s first choice to replace Steve Bruce following the club’s Saudi Arabia-backed takeover in October last year, but the former Arsenal boss ruled himself out of contention.
The 50-year-old has enjoyed a hugely successful time at Villarreal, guiding the Spanish club to Europa League glory in 2020-21 before reaching the last four of the Champions League the following season.
The Spaniard, who also won three straight Europa Leagues with Sevilla, succeeded Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager in May 2018 but left 18 months later following a poor run of results.
Mick Beale
Mick Beale followed Gerrard to Villa Park from Scottish Premiership side Rangers last year before joining Queens Park Rangers in June. Wolves made a formal approach to the west London club to speak to Beale following the sacking of Bruno Lage last month, but the 42-year-old rejected the job.
Beale called Wolves a “fantastic club” but said he wanted to stay at Loftus Road after an impressive start to the current campaign.
Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel has shown he can deliver on the big stage after turning Chelsea’s fortunes around in the Premier League and delivering a Champions League trophy within six months of arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Having also enjoyed success at Borussia Dortmund and Paris St-Germain, the 49-year-old German would be an ambitious appointment.
Tuchel has reportedly already turned down two offers from Premier League clubs since leaving Chelsea.
Sean Dyche
Based in the Midlands, Dyche, 51 has been out of work since leaving Burnley in April.
However, the English manager impressed for the majority of his near 10-year tenure at Turf Moor and has shown he can deliver in more challenging financial circumstances.
Thomas Frank
Thomas Frank took Brentford into the Premier League for the first time in their history and helped them to a creditable 13th-place finish last term as they held their own in the top flight.
In comparison to Villa, the Dane, 49, has also worked on an an extremely limited budget and the resources and fanbase of the Midlands club could be appealing if they were to come calling.
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