Aston Villa are looking for a new manager after sacking Roberto Di Matteo.
Brentford manager Dean Smith
According to the Daily Mail, Aston Villa are interested in Brentford boss Dean Smith – though Steve Clarke could yet become the club’s manager on a permanent basis.
Villa chose to part company with manager Roberto Di Matteo on Monday, with the Italian losing his job after just 124 days in the Villa Park hot seat.
Di Matteo won just one Championship game in 11 attempts, and Saturday’s 2-0 away defeat at Preston North End proved to be the final straw for Villa owner Tony Xia.
Former Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo
Villa are now on the lookout for yet another new manager, with a host of names already linked with the club – and one of them grew up supporting Villa.
The Daily Mail report that Brentford boss Dean Smith is a target for Villa, having guided the Bees to seventh place in the Championship table at the time of writing.
Brentford manager Dean Smith
The former Walsall boss, 45, left the Saddlers for Brentford in November 2015, and has won more than 40% of his games since making the move to Griffin Park.
With just one defeat in the last seven Championship games, Smith has caught the eye of Villa – the club Smith supported growing up, as he told the Express and Star last month.
A move to Villa Park may be too tempting to turn down for Smith, but he’s far from the only candidate in contention, as the likes of Steve Bruce, David Wagner, Mick McCarthy and Lee Johnson have also been touted.
Aston Villa’s caretaker manager Steve Clarke
However, there could yet be a surprise in the offing, as it’s claimed that Steve Clarke – Di Matteo’s assistant and Villa’s current caretaker – could land the job on a permanent basis.
The Scot was sacked by Reading last year, and with the international break upon us, he won’t have opportunities to show that he’s the man to replace Di Matteo, with a number of other managers no doubt ahead of him on Villa’s shortlist.
Who would you like to see replace Di Matteo?
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