Aston Villa have brought in Dean Smith as their new manager.
Aston Villa managed to appoint their new manager on Wednesday night, and it’s certainly an emotional move for new man Dean Smith.
Villa sacked Steve Bruce earlier this month, and whilst Thierry Henry and Rui Faria were strongly linked with the Villa Park post, Villa ended up landing a man with the club at heart.
Brentford boss Smith grew up supporting Villa, and has been linked with the job a number of times before finally landing his dream post just days ago.
Smith has impressed in charge of Brentford and previously Walsall, but for many, the most appealing thing is that he is a boyhood Villa fan, and clearly wants to see his club succeed, arguably even more than any other manager would.
With John Terry returning to the club as Smith’s assistant, Villa fans appear to be keen on the move made by owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris.
Smith hasn’t hidden his allegiance to Villa over the years, and it seems that his love for the club even came out when defender Harlee Dean decided to leave Brentford for Birmingham City in 2017.
Villa and Birmingham are of course bitter rivals, and Dean shared in 2017 just how Smith reacted when he told the then-Bees boss who he was signing for.
Dean was asked by the Football League Paper whether his move was even more difficult because of Smith’s allegiance, and he responded by noting that he called him a ‘Bluenose’ for making the move to St Andrews, with Smith’s long-standing Villa allegiance coming out even with his own players.
“I know,” said Dean when asked about joining Smith’s most disliked club. “He called me a Bluenose when I told him I was coming up here,” he added.
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