Jim White makes contact with Aston Villa and Christian Purslow over Steven Gerrard
Jim White suggests the Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa story is only just beginning as speculation swirls over the Rangers boss and his Ibrox future.
Several news outlets have reported that Gerrard is the frontrunner for the Premier League job after Dean Smith was sacked on Sunday.
Speaking on talkSPORT [09/11/21], White claims he has attempted to get in contact with Villa chief executive Christian Purslow.
White said: “We know the various protagonists in this story, don’t we? We know Christian Purslow at Aston Villa very well and we know Ross Wilson at Rangers very well.
“Just checking my phone, does that have anything to do with it? No, it doesn’t.
“At the moment it’s radio silence because Rangers are not saying at this time, they’re not saying anything, whether or not they’ve received an official bid.
“And Purslow and Villa have not got back to me to say ‘yes we have made an official bid’. Nothing coming out of either club, but you cannot help but think, ‘yes, there’s going to be more to this, international break’.”
Killer break
The international break is well known as the graveyard of many managers with clubs opting to take advantage of the time available to them in lieu of no matches.
There have been a number of departures in England over the last few days with Neil Warnock leaving Middlesbrough and Smith and Daniel Farke being sacked by Villa and Norwich respectively.
That has opened up vacancies and it is the Villa one that could cause the biggest threat to Rangers.
The next seven days look set to be crucial.
One would imagine that if Villa cannot convince the Gers or Gerrard by next Monday, before the return of their international players, that the 41-year-old will stay at Ibrox for the foreseeable future.
It’s a big week ahead for Rangers and Gerrard.
In other Rangers news, an ex-FIFA official has blasted this player after a major recent Ibrox controversy.