Back in June, Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard lost their No.2 as Michael Beale took the reins at QPR.
It was an opportunity for the 42-year-old to become a manager for the first time in his career having only ever worked as an assistant.
Beale has proven himself in just four months at Loftus Road, guiding QPR to sixth in the Championship.
Now – according to The Athletic – Wolves have made him their No.1 target to replace Bruno Lage, as pressure mounts on Gerrard at Villa Park without Beale.
Michael Beale makes Steven Gerrard look dependant
Well, it’s funny how things work out in football.
With Gerrard – who cost £4m in compensation – close to losing his first managerial role in the Premier League, his old assistant could now be stepping back into the top-flight as a manager of his own.
In our view, it is starting to look as if Beale was the brains behind Aston Villa’s early run of form under Gerrard.
At the time of QPR hiring Beale, we explored some interesting comments from Emiliano Martinez.
The Aston Villa No.1 claimed that Beale did “all the training sessions” and also took “all the important meetings” while working as No.2 to Gerrard, which led us to believe the Villans would struggle without him.
That now seems to have been the case.
Now, if Gerrard does receive his P45 – the Telegraph believe Mauricio Pochettino is being lined up to replace him – then it would certainly rub salt in the wounds to see his old No.2 arrive in the Premier League just as he leaves it.
Michael Beale can shine at Wolves
In our view, this would be a very shrewd appointment by Wolves.
It’s always nice to see a new name given a chance in the Premier League, and Beale has certainly worked hard to prove himself behind the scenes over the years.
With talent such as Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes waiting for him at Molineux, we see no reason why he cannot do a fine job if he does end up back in the Midlands.
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