Sources: Aston Villa have 'strong interest' in Graham Potter with Mauricio Pochettino also on the radar

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29 Aug 2022, 6:22 am

Aston Villa have a "strong interest" in Brighton manager Graham Potter as a potential replacement for Steven Gerrard, sources have told Football Insider.

Mauricio Pochettino is also on the target list of the Midlands big hitters following a wretched start to the new campaign.

The Premier League club have lost three of their first four Premier League matches of the season and manager Gerrard was booed by a section of supporters after Sunday's 1-0 defeat to West Ham.

It is believed that the Liverpool icon's position as manager is far from secure and the club's ambitious American owners won't hesitate to sack him if results do no improve.

Brighton manager Potter is emerging as the number one target for Villa and he is set to be sounded out about his interest in the post.

The Solihull-born 47-year-old grew up supporting Villa and has revealed most of his friends also support the Midlands giants.

One intriguing alternative to Potter is former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino, who has been out of work since being sacked by the French giants in early July.

He is said to be a credible candidate not only due to his track record, but also because of the number of elite south American players in the Villa squad.

Football Insider first revealed Villa's interest in Gerrard in April 2021, seven months before his eventual appointment.

Gerrard has struggled to turn around the fortunes of the team since replacing Dean Smith as manager last November.

The wave of optimism that accompanied his arrival following an impressive start to his managerial career at Rangers has dissipated in recent weeks.

Villa's owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris have continued to back their manager in the summer transfer market after last season's 14th-place Premier League finish, three places lower than they finished under Smith the previous campaign.

Tellingly, Edens and Sawiris are hugely ambitious and have pumped around £500million into Villa since buying the club in 2018, with more than £350m spent on transfers.

In other news, Aston Villa reach agreement in principle to sign 26-yr-old.

Aston Villa