Steven Gerrard names Diego Carlos as one of Aston Villa vice captains

Steven Gerrard has named summer signing Diego Carlos as one of the multiple vice captains of Aston Villa for the upcoming season.

The Villa manager took the decision of axing Tyrone Mings as his captain and has now built a leadership hierarchy at the club.

Barring Carlos, Ashley Young, John McGinn and Emiliano Martinez have been named as the other leaders, with Young being the club captain and McGinn being the on-field captain.

Explaining these moves, Gerrard told Birmingham Live, "In the short time that I have worked with Diego Carlos, everything he has done smacks me in the face that he is a leader and a potential leader moving forward, so they are going to be the three.

"It doesn’t mean that any of them are guaranteed a shirt, I want to make that loud and clear. Just because you’ve got this title, it’s still important that your performances are strong and consistent."

Good choice

Gerrard has spent a few weeks with Carlos and knows what his influence is behind the scenes.

This makes the former Sevilla defender an important choice as it looks like he's already taking on a leadership role.

It seems like the dressing room is already taking note of the sort of player that he is and he's going to be a good influence for the up and coming players.

He would also help better some of the defenders at the club as last season Villa conceded a number of silly goals.

With a calming presence in defence, we're expecting them to look more organised without the ball next season.

It will be interesting to see who his long-term centre-back partner will be as that spot currently seems up for grabs.

In other Aston Villa news, manager Steven Gerrard is very keen to bring Liverpool defender Joe Gomez to the club.