Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has revealed that a decision hasn’t been made on who will be club captain, but it will be announced soon.
As of the end of last season, Tyrone Mings wore the Villa armband having been confirmed in that role by former boss Dean Smith.
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While Gerrard was seemingly happy to leave that in place after his arrival at the club, he’s now preparing for his first full season in charge at Villa and he will no doubt want to make changes to the set up if he believes it would be beneficial to his team.
Given the level of competition for places, there is no guarantee that Mings will be a regular starter this season, particularly after the arrival of Diego Carlos, and so time will tell if he keeps hold of the captaincy, or if he’s even still in contention if Gerrard wishes to make a change.
Gerrard yet to decide on Villa captain
“Up for grabs,” the Villa boss told the media, as per VillaTV. “We’re not far away from deciding it as we’re two weeks out, but there’s two or three in the running for it.”
Realistically, Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne, Boubacar Kamara and Philippe Coutinho are among the group that will be expected to play in the majority, if not all, of our games this season, depending on injuries and suspension too.
Mings, John McGinn and perhaps even the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings in terms of more senior options may not always be in the starting XI this year, and so it makes no real sense to name a captain who could be sat on the bench, while it may come too soon for Jacob Ramsey.
In turn, making one of Carlos or Kamara captain would make sense as it’s one of Gerrard’s players as he looks to stamp his mark on the team further with both in leadership roles at their previous clubs, but the same could be said of Martinez who has donned the armband in pre-season this summer.
It’s a difficult choice and one that the Villa boss has to get right as it sets the tone for the rest of the squad. Time will tell who gets it, but Gerrard is clearly assessing his options carefully and will make the decision he feels is best for his team moving forward.