Aston Villa are reportedly in talks with Sporting manager Ruben Amorim as we step up our search for Steven Gerrard’s successor.
As per the club’s statement on Thursday night, the decision was made to part ways with Gerrard following our heavy defeat to Fulham which leaves us just above the relegation zone after 11 games.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Villa suffer defeat to Fulham to end Gerrard tenure
With our issues under the now former Villa boss dating back to last season though, the decision to move on was largely expected and so now the focus switches to who will replace him and try to initially move us away from danger.
According to The Athletic, Amorim is among the candidates that Villa are in discussions with, while hope of a high profile appointment have seemingly been dashed as the report adds that neither Mauricio Pochettino nor Thomas Tuchel will be taking the job as they await a return at a higher level.
Further, a potential swoop for Brentford boss Thomas Frank is unlikely to be successful as our Premier League rivals are confident that he will stay with them, and so it seems we will start looking to other options on our managerial shortlist with Amorim gaining more traction.
The 37-year-old enjoyed a successful playing career with Benfica but more importantly helped Sporting to their first league title in 20 years in the 2020/21 campaign while also winning other domestic honours as he excels as a coach in Portugal.
Naturally, given his lack of experience in the Premier League, it would be a gamble to an extent, but the Villa hierarchy will no doubt analyse the job he’s done there both on and off the pitch as we look to rebuild following Gerrard’s tenure and also plan for the long-term future.
There will undoubtedly be others under consideration too, but as we start to rule out individuals who had been heavily linked with the post just a matter of days ago, the shortlist will now start to whittle down to genuine candidates and it’s vital that Villa get this decision right in order to move us forward.
Amorim would be an intriguing pick with a lot of upside but risk involved too, but it’s also arguably a more inspirational appointment in terms of a long-term vision rather than going with a safer pair of hands in the form of a Sean Dyche who has also been paired with the job.
