Ruben Amorim is one of the candidates being talked to by Aston Villa to replace Steven Gerrard.
Villa are looking for a new manager after Gerrard was relieved of his duties following the 3-0 defeat at Fulham on Thursday.
Sports coach Amorim, 37, is considered one of the most talented young coaches in Europe. The former Portugal international led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years in 2020-21, leading to him being named Primeira Liga manager of the season.
He also oversaw a stunning 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in this season’s Champions League.
For now, Mauricio Pochettino is not ready to replace Gerrard at Villa, however. The Argentine would prefer to wait for an opportunity to return to management at a higher level.
As uncertainty grew over Gerrard’s future, it is believed Villa gauged Pochettino’s interest and became aware of the Argentine’s intentions, which are not believed to have changed.
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Thomas Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2020-21, is another manager who is very attractive to Villa, for obvious reasons.
But like Pochettino, Tuchel is not interested in moving to Villa Park.
Villa are also among a number of clubs interested in Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
Brentford, however, are optimistic the 49-year-old will stay at the club, who are 10th in the Premier League.
Villa are just one place outside the Premier League relegation zone, having picked up nine points from 11 games this season.
They last played in Europe in the 2010-11 season under caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald, when they were knocked out at the Europa League play-off stage by Austria’s Rapid Wien.
Instead, Pochettino has managed in the Champions League for the past six seasons.
The 50-year-old was last employed by Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the Ligue 1 title in 2021-22 with a team containing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
He previously enjoyed a successful five-year spell in north London with Tottenham Hotspur, leading the club to the Champions League final in 2019, which they lost to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Pochettino has been approached by 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid on three occasions, most recently in the summer of 2021 before the Spanish side eventually appointed Carlo Ancelotti.
GO FURTHER
There was no way back for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa after the nature of the Fulham defeat
(Photo: Getty Images)