Steven Gerrard is using Aston Villa as a stepping stone on his route to bigger and better things.

What's been said?

That's according to a claim made by Paul Merson, with the former footballer stating his belief in a recent column for the Daily Star that the 41-year-old is only using Aston Villa as a pit stop on his way to securing the manager's position at Liverpool, before suggesting the former Rangers boss could even leave Villa Park within the next 12 months.

In his article, Merson said: "Aston Villa is a stepping stone to Liverpool for Steven Gerrard. And if things go his way he could even be at Anfield this time next year. Stranger things have happened.

"Gerrard will be Liverpool manager one day. He is on the right path. I'm sure that's his aim. He will have a plan. This is part of the journey. Sitting here today you would think he's got no chance of being Liverpool manager next season. But things change quickly in football.

"If you'd said to me this time last year that Dean Smith would be out of a job I'd have said no chance. It's all about timing.

"If Liverpool start next season badly or Jurgen Klopp wakes up morning and decides to walk away, who else are they going to go for? If Steven Gerrard does well at Villa in the Premier League then surely he is the first one Liverpool would turn to."

Fans would be furious

While Merson's suggestion that Gerrard could be on his way out of Villa Park within the space of a year seems to be a little gung ho, should the 41-year-old indeed end up dropping Villa for the Liverpool job in the not too distant future, fans of the club would undoubtedly be furious.

Indeed, there is understandably a great deal of excitement surrounding Gerrard's appointment at Aston Villa, as the former England international highly impressed during his time in Glasgow, winning the club's first league title in a decade in considerable style, with Gers remaining undefeated in the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership campaign.

However, despite this, following the former Liverpool captain's move from Rangers to Aston Villa, the Ibrox faithful were certainly less than pleased with the manner of his departure, with one Gers supporter dubbing him a "snake" for leaving their club, while another said they would "like to wish Steven nothing but the absolute worst" in his career at Villa.

So, while the hypothetical situation of Gerrard leaving Aston Villa within the next 12 months would also mean that he had done an exceptional job at Villa Park in order to merit a move to Anfield, should the 41-year-old indeed go on and leave the club at the first sniff of a bigger job, Villa fans may well come to learn how Rangers supporters are feeling at present.

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