Simon Jordan has suggested that Aston Villa should make a move to appoint Erik ten Hag as their next manager.

What's been said?

Speaking recently on talkSPORT (via Birmingham Live), Jordan stated his belief that, rather than making a move to appoint Rangers boss Steven Gerrard as Dean Smith's successor at Villa Park, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens should turn their efforts towards the Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.

Speaking about Gerrard's ability, Jordan said: "There is an assumption - and I am not in that camp right now - that Steven Gerrard is an elite manager. I don't think he's an elite manager.

"I think [Villa's] ownership have a top-six mentality about them. Gerrard is in the Europa League with Rangers because he is in a league that is not pushing him to the next level.

"If they are now saying their ambitions are to be a top side then they should be looking vertically. And a vertical manager is someone like Ten Hag because if Tottenham can get Conte why can't Villa get someone like that?"

Ten Hag would revive Villa

Considering the rather remarkable job Ten Hag has done with Ajax since his appointment at the Johan Cruijff ArenA back in 2017, it is difficult to argue with Jordan's suggestion that the 51-year-old would make a much better appointment than Gerrard.

Indeed, the Haaksbergen-born manager has turned the Dutch giants, who had not lifted the Eredivisie for three years prior to his arrival, into a title-winning machine - having won the league in each of the three full seasons Ten Hag has been at the club, in addition to lifting two Dutch Cups.

Furthermore, the former Bayern Munich II coach has also reestablished Ajax as a presence in the Champions League, reaching the semi-final of the competition back in 2018/19 - narrowly missing out on qualification for the final as a result of a stoppage-time Lucas Moura winner for Tottenham Hotspur.

Further still, Ten Hag also helped to develop some of Europe's most exciting young players in recent seasons, with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Justin Kluivert, Hakim Ziyech, Donny van de Beek and Sergino Dest all being sold for huge sums after being handed a chance in the Ajax first-team by the 51-year-old.

As such, with a track record of reestablishing a huge club back to their rightful position in the league, having an impressive record in cup competitions, being highly adept at developing youth prospects and boasting a 73% win rate at Ajax, the man who Pierre van Hooijdonk dubbed a "remarkable" manager would indeed seem to be a fantastic fit for Villa. The Dutchman very much appears to be more than capable of reviving the struggling Premier League side if appointed by NSWE.

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