Aston Villa have contacted Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim about becoming the club’s new manager, but Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel will not be succeeding Steven Gerrard at Villa Park, 90min understands.
Gerrard’s 11-month reign ended on Thursday night after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham left Villa, who invested a significant amount on players during the 42-year-old’s spell in the Midlands, outside of the relegation zone only on goals scored.
90min previously reported that Villa had already sounded out Pochettino about succeeding Gerrard as manager, but despite their ambitions to break into the Premier League’s top six, the Argentine’s preference is to return to management at a higher calibre club.
Former employers Tottenham Hotspur are a potential destination for Pochettino, with current head coach Antonio Conte tipped to return to Juventus if they decide to part ways with Massimiliano Allegri.
Former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel was also contacted by Villa, 90min understands, but he swiftly made it clear that he would not be interested in the role.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank is another manager under consideration to succeed Gerrard, although Brentford are confident that their Scandinavian tactician will remain at the club for the long-term, and so is Sporting CP boss Amorim – who has been also been contacted.
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The 37-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best young coaches in the game, and led Sporting to a first Premeira Liga title in 19 years after joining from Braga in 2020.
90min has learned that Villa have been informed by intermediaries that Amorim would consider taking over, though it’s likely the club will have to stump up a hefty amount of compensation to prise him away from Lisbon – it’s believed he has a release clause of €20m (£17.5m), double the amount Sporting paid to hire him from Braga.
Amorim was not interested in talking about his future when asked ahead of the weekend’s game with Casa Pia, and simply told the assembled media that there’s “nothing to say about other clubs”.
QPR boss Michael Beale, who turned down the opportunity to speak to Villa’s Midlands rivals Wolves earlier in the week and was previously Gerrard’s assistant, is another coach Villa’s hierarchy are impressed by, but the chances of him leaving the Championship leaders look to be slim at this stage.
Rafa Benitez and Sean Dyche are other options for Villa, while former Arsenal manager Unai Emery, currently in charge of Villarreal, is also believed to have been discussed.
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