Steven Gerrard is major contender for Premier League return as next manager faces sack
Steven Gerrard has been out of work since leaving Al-Ettifaq in January.
The former Aston Villa manager has since been linked with numerous clubs, with Gerrard turning down an opportunity to return to Rangers in October.
As a result, the 45-year-old has continued to remain in the mix for multiple jobs as he looks to find a way back into management.
One position he may find himself in the running for in the next few weeks is at Burnley, with Scott Parker remaining under heavy pressure at the Clarets.
“I wanted to help that club. But you have to have the right tools”
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 22, 2025
Steven Gerrard speaks on how close he came to a Rangers return in the latest episode of Ally’s Social Club, now available on YouTube 📺 pic.twitter.com/zi8vPwiC9f
Steven Gerrard one of the favourites to take over at Burnley next
Burnley’s return to the Premier League has not gone to plan.
The Clarets are currently 19th in the table, six points from safety with a poor goal difference.
In fact, Burnley have not won a game since 26 October when they overcame Wolves 3-2 thanks to a late Lyle Foster goal.
- Burnley are aiming to stay in the Premier League after winning promotion last season
- The Clarets got off to a good start at the beginning of the campaign, but have since dropped off.
- As a result, Parker’s position at Turf Moor in now under serious threat.
As a result, Parker is now the second-favourite manager to leave next in the Premier League, only behind West Ham’s Nuno Espirito Santo.
Therefore, the bookies are taking bets on who could become the next Burnley manager if Parker were to be given the boot.
While the current favourite is Gary O’Neil at 7/2, Steven Gerrard is in the running for the job, with one bookmaker placing him as fourth-favourite at 8/1.
What has Gerrard said about returning to management?
Since Gerrard turned down Rangers, there has been plenty of speculation about where he could go next in his career.
The former Liverpool star had been living out in Bahrain, but has now returned to the UK ahead of the new year.
However, Gerrard is seemingly in no rush to return to the dugout, insisting that he is waiting for the right opportunity to arise.
He told The Smith Brothers Podcast on 26 December: “I think I suit a certain job. I need a passionate crowd, I need to try and feed off that. Something has to match my skillset.
“Rangers was perfect. I was really close to going up there again. Just the timing and a few other situations that weren’t aligned.
“But Rangers is my type of club. The fans, the passion, you can feed off of it and it certainly suits the way I go about it.
“If something doesn’t come or something where I feel like I can compete for the prizes, I’m comfortable doing what I’m doing.”