Rangers boss Steven Gerrard looks set for a move to Aston Villa – and Paul Merson thinks that Celtic are ‘coming back’ in the title race.
Villa sacked boss Dean Smith on Sunday after a run of five Premier League defeats in a row.
Villa have made Rangers boss Gerrard their top target, and it sounds like a deal is actually close.
The Telegraph claim that Rangers have now allowed Gerrard to hold talks over a move to Villa, and a deal is expected to be done inside 48 hours.
The move will allegedly see four Rangers coaches – Gary McAllister, Michael Beale, Tom Culshaw and Jordan Milsom – follow Gerrard in a £3million deal.
This is horrendous news for Rangers as they look to keep hold of the Scottish Premiership title, and may just give Celtic some momentum.
Merson warns Rangers of Celtic rise
As the table stands right now, Rangers are just four points clear of Celtic in the race for the title.
Few were expecting Celtic to challenge for the title in Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge.
With just two points dropped from the last five league games, Celtic are moving rapidly under the Australian.
Rangers would be in turmoil if Gerrard does leave, and Celtic could seriously go and win the title straight back from the Gers.
Pundit Paul Merson has now told Sky Sports that he thinks Celtic are ‘coming back’ and are moving forward having bought into Postecoglou’s methods.
Merson does think Gerrard will be tempted by Villa, and seemingly thinks Celtic now have a real shot at top spot.
“It’s going to be hard to prise Steven Gerrard away, he’s managing a massive club in Glasgow Rangers,” Merson said. “He’s got them buzzing again; he stopped Celtic winning 10 in a row, they are in the Europa League, and they’ve got a chance of winning the Scottish Premiership. It’s a bit of a juggling act for Gerrard because Celtic look as though they are coming back now. They’ve got the new manager in; they’ve bought into his ideas and they are moving up the table.”
“There is no forgone conclusion in the Scottish title race this year and, given the nature of football, if Celtic went on and won it this year everything from the year before is almost forgotten. Everyone wants to manage in the Premier League. That is no disrespect to the Scottish Premiership. Rangers and Celtic are bigger clubs that probably half of the teams in the Premier League. But it’s the Premier League, and when you start out managing, I’m sure in the back of people’s minds if you could get a job like Aston Villa – wow,” he added.
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