West Brom next manager: Ex-Aston Villa boss in running after Hawthorns shock
West Brom are now on the lookout for a new head coach and could look to take inspiration from Aston Villa.
The Baggies reached the end of their patience on Monday (21 April) after a damaging 3-1 home loss against relegation-threatened Derby County.
This saw the Hawthorns hierarchy part ways with Tony Mowbray just months after returning to B71 to replace Carlos Corberan.
Now Albion are on the lookout for their third manager in five months and could look to a former Villa head coach in their recruitment efforts.
West Brom could hire failed Aston Villa boss
It is fair to say that the Black Country outfit are in a bit of a mess right now and are in desperate need of a change in the coming weeks and months.
Coming off the back of five defeats in six games, it is little surprise that Mowbray’s tenure has been cut short in favour of a new manager.
It will certainly be interesting to see who takes up the mantle in the dugout, but there will be a huge job on the line for whoever takes it up.
This has seen the likes of Liam Rosenior and Gary O’Neil be linked with a move to the Midlands, but it is another name which will pique the interest of Villa fans.
Steven Gerrard has been mooted with a return to English football, coming in at 12/1 and a likelihood of 7.7 per cent to take over, according to Gambling.com (22 April).
The former England captain sits narrowly behind the likes of James Morrison and Sean Dyche, who come in at 10/1 and 6/1 respectively.
It is fair to say that the Liverpool legend failed at Villa Park but has now been linked with the Baggies and a return to Rangers to replace Barry Ferguson.
Gerrard must be interested in West Brom role
There is little positivity surrounding the 44-year-old right now after his terrible spells with the Villans and Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq.
Since his celebrated departure from B6, Unai Emery has gone from strength to strength and made Villa one of the better sides in Europe this campaign.
| Stat | Unai Emery | Steven Gerrard |
| Games | 134 | 40 |
| Wins | 73 (54%) | 13 (33%) |
| Draws | 26 | 8 |
| Losses | 35 | 19 |
By comparison, a move to the Championship for Gerrard feels like something he should be jumping at, given how badly his managerial career has spiralled in recent years.
A move to The Hawthorns could be exactly what he needs to find his feet, although things won’t be easy after the struggles of Mowbray.