Aston Villa look set to miss out on Erik ten Hag as the club close in on Steven Gerrard instead.

What's been said?

A claim made by the Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield on GIVEMESPORT this week claimed that luring the Dutchman to Villa Park would be a huge coup.

However, sadly amid speculation that Gerrard is on the verge of becoming the new boss, it looks as though the Dutchman will be staying in Amsterdam at current club, Ajax.

Talking about the potential of Villa making an approach for Ten Hag, Hatfield said: "He's someone who's really highly coveted and I think some people see him as the next Manchester United boss.

"But if Villa could go out and get him, what a coup that would be. Is he going to give up European football now for potential European football in a year or two's time if things go to plan? I'm not too sure."

Fans will be gutted

Considering just how talented a manager Ten Hag quite clearly is, Hatfield's suggestion, coupled with the ongoing developments surrounding Gerrard, is sure to have left fans gutted - although perhaps not totally surprised.

Indeed, having led Ajax to three consecutive Eredivisie titles in the last three years, as well as winning two Dutch Cups and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League back in 2018/29, it is evident that the former Bayern Munich II coach is something of a serial winner. On top of that, he's also been dubbed a "remarkable" manager by Pierre van Hooijdonk, highlighting his wonderful expertise and C.V.

This is perhaps why the 51-year-old has been linked with both the Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur jobs in recent weeks, and could also be a reason for Hatfield's claim that the managerial vacancy at 16th-placed Aston Villa may be slightly below the Dutchman.

However, considering the fact that, in a recent poll ran on Football FanCast, the overwhelming majority of Villa fans said they would prefer Ten Hag to Gerrard, the news that the Rangers boss is heading to the Midlands instead could well be something the club's fanbase do not particularly want to accept as the former appears to be a much better coach and tactician.

In other news: John Percy drops big Aston Villa manager update that should have fans buzzing