Aston Villa boss Gerrard plotting move for Liverpool defender

Steven Gerrard continued his impressive tenure as manager of Aston Villa on Saturday, as the Villans secured a 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. 

The former Liverpool captain has now won five of his ten games in charge of the club, lifting them from 16th to 11th in the process.

Gerrard has also persuaded former Reds teammate Philippe Coutinho to join him at Villa, and the Brazilian made an instant impact with a goal on his debut to secure a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last week.

Now, the former England international is hoping to tie up another inspired signing.

As per Football Insider, Villa have now given up hope of finalising a deal for Liverpool defender Joe Gomez during this month’s transfer window.

The Englishman was a regular under Jurgen Klopp in previous seasons, playing 43 times across all competitions during the club’s Premier League title winning campaign in 2019/20, as he partnered Virgil van Dijk at the heart of defence.

Gomez is now fourth-choice centre back at Liverpool and could leave this month

He made just seven league appearances last term, however, having suffered a serious knee problem in November 2020, and has since fallen down the pecking order at Anfield.

Both Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate have been selected regularly ahead of the 24-year-old this season, and he is yet to start a Premier League match, having played a total of just 15 minutes of league action.

The report states that Villa registered an interest in the former Charlton Athletic player earlier this month, but have still not given up hope of completing a deal despite a lack of progress.

The Villans will reportedly make another move for the centre-back this week, with a view to completing a deal before the deadline on at the end of the month.

Villa are in the market for a defender following Axel Tuanzebe’s departure, with the Manchester United player having cut short his loan spell with the club in favour of a move to Napoli for the remainder of the season.

Liverpool boss Klopp, meanwhile, is believed to be keen on offloading one senior centre-back this month and, while Nat Phillips is the most likely candidate to depart amid interest from Watford and PSV Eindhoven, Gomez could be let go instead.