Wayne Veysey

Mon 24 October 2022 7:18, UK

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is a strong contender to become the new Aston Villa manager, sources have told Football Insider.

The Man City legend, 36, is firmly on the radar of the Midlands giants as they step up their search for a replacement for the sacked Steven Gerrard.

Villa brought themselves some breathing space in the Premier League table as interim head coach Aaron Dank steered them to a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Brentford in his first match in charge.

But that will not stop them pushing ahead this week with a permanent manager search, with sources telling Football Insider that Kompany is in the frame and a move is being lined up.

Preliminary talks are likely to take place in the coming days.

The Belgian has a growing reputation after taking over at relegated Burnley this summer and steering them to third in the Championship and only a point behind leaders QPR.

Kompany’s side secured an especially notable win on Saturday when they came from 2-0 down at Sunderland to win 4-2.

Mauricio Pochettino has misgivings over the Villa post due to the players in the squad, while it will be extremely difficult to prise the other early favourite Unai Emery from Villarreal.

Brentford are braced for an approach for Thomas Frank from Villa and have already put out early feelers for potential manager replacements.

But there is a strong conviction among some among the Villa hierarchy that Kompany could be the ideal candidate.

He left City following a trophy-drenched spell in 2019 and took over as player-manager of Anderlecht in his homeland.

Kompany ended his glittering playing career in the summer of 2020 and had two more seasons in charge of Anderlecht before heading back to England.

They finished third in the Belgian top tier last season and lost the Belgian cup final on penalties to Gent.

In other news, club braced for Aston Villa approach after preliminary move made.