Telegraph are reporting that he could be in place before next Monday and that he's interested in the job.
Steven Gerrard is interested in being Aston Villa's next manager, with the ambitious Midlands club set to make an official approach to Rangers.
Telegraph Sport understands Villa have made background checks on Gerrard and his potential staff, with the former England and Liverpool captain ready to speak with the club if Rangers grant permission
Gerrard is under contract until 2024 at Ibrox and the new deal, signed in December 2019, is understood to include a clause of £2 million plus, but compensation will not be a problem for Villa's owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.
As Telegraph Sport reported on Sunday, Gerrard was the club’s first choice ahead of Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and fills the criteria of the big-name manager whom Villa’s ambitious owners see as a fitting figurehead for their project.
On Monday, the club’s chief executive Christian Purslow addressed the Villa players who had not gone away on international duty at the club’s training ground and told them that the new manager would be in place in time for the following Monday. The club want a big name and a strong character and want that individual to make Villa a challenging and intense environment for the players.
Gerrard led Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title last season and was not planning to leave the club mid-season, but the lure of a big Premier League job is giving Villa encouragement of agreeing a deal. Villa are likely to also move for Gerrard's assistants Gary McAllister and Michael Beale if, as expected, talks are successful.
McAllister has previously worked at Villa under Gerard Houllier, while Beale was on Cardiff City's shortlist for their vacant manager's job, and the pair's roles in transforming Rangers have also been crucial.
The Belgium manager Roberto Martinez, formerly at Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton, is another who has been under consideration by Villa. His side play their last World Cup qualifiers against Estonia on Saturday and then three days later in Cardiff on Tuesday against Wales.
Martinez is understood to be a realistic alternative if Villa fail to persuade Gerrard to succeed Dean Smith, who was sacked on Sunday after five defeats in a row.
Should Villa appoint Gerrard, it represents the next step in a hitherto steep rise in his coaching career. From taking over Liverpool Under-18s in 2017 to his part in the renaissance of Rangers, who won their 55th Scottish league title under him last year – blocking rivals Celtic from making it ten in a row over an unbeaten season.
The Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand had earlier ruled himself out of contention. The 49-year-old’s team have qualified for next year’s World Cup finals without losing a game. He was part of a Danish football federation that recently visited the training ground as guests of sporting director Johan Lange.
Hjalmund said: “I'm happy to be the Danish national coach, and I'm not going anywhere right now. I think I have only just started and I am in the process of finding out what this team can do.
“I love the job. For me, it is a big challenge to see how far we can go. How well we can get to play because we have a very exciting team with great potential.”
