Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is reportedly on Aston Villa's shortlist of possible replacements for Dean Smith
That's according to Sky Sports , who are reporting that Gerrard is a close friend of Villa CEO Christian Purslow following their time together at Liverpool when Purslow was managing director.
Former Everton boss Roberto Martinez and Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand are also, according to the report, on the list of possible names to replace Smith.
Gerrard's once longtime associate at Liverpool Jamie Carragher believes the reigning Rangers boss becoming the new manager of Aston Villa would represent a 'great move' but conceded that remaining at the Scotland's top-flight club until the end of the season may be the correct call.
"I think Aston Villa as a club would be a great move for Steven Gerrard," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"But the situation he finds himself in right now is he’s taken the title off Celtic last season and he’s in a great position to win it again.
"I think, in a perfect world, you want to stay at Rangers until the end of the season and come away from there with two titles."