As reported by Birmingham Live, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has agreed to take over the managerial reigns at Aston Villa. The deal between the pair is all but finalized if the 40-year-old former Belgium assistant coach gets the complete backing from the Villa board.
Current manager and former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce will meet with the Aston Villa hierarchy in the coming hours as his fate very much hangs in the balance. According to David Woods, Chief Football Writer of the Daily Star, the new owners, Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, are unconvinced of Bruce’s capabilities in guiding the team back into the first tier of English football. Starsport believes that Henry has “verbally agreed” to be the main man in charge at the Villa dugout come the start of the new EFL Championship campaign.
Aston Villa suffered a disappointing end to their campaign last season as the club qualified for the Championship play-offs but stumbled at the final hurdle, handing Fulham FC a berth in next season’s Premier League. Steve Bruce has done a magnificent job in bringing stability back within the club but now faces an uphill battle in holding onto his job.
If the appointment of the former French icon does kick-start the revolution at Villa Park, then he is expected to appoint current Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould as his right-hand man. With Unai Emery taking over as manager for the Gunners, Bould is uncertain about his role within the club and could look to jump ship if an offer from Aston Villa comes his way.
Emery has already brought in Juan Carlos Carcedo as the assistant coach which might tempt Bould to take up a new challenge in his coaching career. Thierry Henry has taken time to understand his duty and role of being a coach and did considerably well as assistant to Roberto Martinez with the Belgium national team as the country placed 3rd at the FIFA World Cup held in Russia.
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Henry’s time at running at defenders and causing havoc in the opposition half has drawn to a close but that will not prevent the Frenchman from passing on his ideology and wisdom to the upcoming generation of footballers at Villa as together they aim for promotion back into the promised land of the Premier League.
