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Report: Aston Villa close to hiring Gerrard as new manager

Craig Williamson - SNS Group / SNS Group / Getty

Aston Villa are confident of prising Steven Gerrard from Rangers and appointing the 41-year-old as their new manager, The Guardian's Ewan Murray reports.

Villa will pay the Scottish giants around £3 million in compensation to break Gerrard's contract, according to Murray.

His deal was set to run until June 2024.

Rangers are reportedly considering Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Frank Lampard as Gerrard's replacement.

The former Liverpool midfielder quickly emerged as Villa's top candidate to replace Dean Smith in the dugout. Villa fired Smith after losing their fifth match in a row Friday.

Gerrard has a previous working relationship with Villa executive Christian Purslow, who served as Liverpool's managing director from 2009-10.

Even though Gerrard has no previous experience coaching in the Premier League, the Midlands side reportedly believes he's capable of helping the club return to the European stage.

Rangers handed Gerrard his first opportunity to coach at the senior level, hiring the ex-English international as Graeme Murty's successor in 2018. He led the club to the Scottish Premiership title in his third season in charge, preventing rivals Celtic from capturing their 10th consecutive league title.

Prior to management, Gerrard carved out a memorable career playing for boyhood club Liverpool and played a pivotal role in helping the Reds win the Champions League in 2005.

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