Somewhere at Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, news that Jurgen Klopp had extended his stay at Anfield would have been met with a wry smile.
Not because Steven Gerrard has anything other than his eyes fixed firmly on Aston Villa, you understand. But Villa’s boss would have known full well that the reveal would have put to bed thoughts that Liverpool minus Jurgen equals Stevie G.
Given the quality of his squad, their age profile and potential, Klopp may well have created a dynasty by the time he leaves in 2026. Quite where Villa’s boss will be by then is anyone’s guess.
It would gladden everyone with a claret and blue heart if he had created his own indelible mark, creating a history of his own. That, however, is stretching reality too far at the moment. For however big Gerrard believed the job to be after taking over from Dean Smith, he knows now that it’s far, far in excess of those original thoughts. That it’s going to take more than the loan signing of Philippe Coutinho and a questionable upgrade at left-back to make good the brief he accepted.
Gerrard was first tasked with stopping the rot. That mission has partially been completed. Next comes the tricky bit - turn them into top six challengers. Unfortunately, it has become achingly clear to the former England international that he doesn’t possess the tools to do the job. Yes, Villa boast monied owners and a compliant chief executive in Christian Purslow who has staked his own reputation upon the Liverpool legend.
But the crop he inherited from Smith is way short. Indeed, there is a growing feeling at Villa Park that the £100m windfall generated by the sale of golden boy Jack Grealish has been wasted. And that Villa are no better off than they were 12 months ago. In fact, the situation may be worse. Armed with cash and set against the backdrop of an anguished fan-base, the club blew £40m on Emi Buendia from Norwich City, gave Southampton £30m for Danny Ings and handed over £25m for Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey.
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Gerrard sourced Coutinho in his first window - seemingly to take Buendia’s place. He can’t get a tune out of Ings and the club’s physios have seen more of Bailey than anyone else. It’s not as if Villa weren’t spending before Grealish departed. They were. Gerrard’s desire to bring in £25m left-back Lucas Digne at the expense of Toon success story Matt Targett has not brought significant improvement, either.
Villa only avoided chalking up a fifth successive Premier League defeat for the second time this season with a shut-out at Leicester last week. The first one ended with Smith getting the sack. So, it’s clear that the players aren’t up to the required standard for where Gerrard wants to go. He does have options. There is some serious talent in the club’s Under-23s.
Jacob Ramsey is an outside bet for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad. Carney Chukwuemeka is a star-in-waiting and Tim Iroegbanum is another attracting rave reviews. But can Gerrard take the chance these youngsters will eventually come good? Does he go to market again? How does he sell players on good contracts, bought for good money - such as Morgan Sanson and Bertrand Traore?
How much of a financial hit is the club prepared to take and how deep are the owners’ pockets? It took Gerrard two years to make sense of Rangers. To do likewise at Villa, he needs money, time and patience. But the clock is already ticking - and whether he will get until 2026 to deliver it is another question altogether.
