Aston Villa have a shortlist of managers that could replace Dean Smith after his sacking on Sunday and Roberto Martinez is cited. Some supporters on social media have responded negatively to the rumours and hope he isn’t appointed, however.
Villa would have to pay compensation as the 48-year-old is currently in charge of the Belgium national team. Martinez has shown an interest in returning to the Premier League after managing Wigan Athletic (2009 – 2013) and Everton (2013 – 2016), but he did reject Villa in the past when Randy Lerner wanted him.
One big stumbling block in Martinez coming to Villa Park will be his commitment to Belgium. De Rode Duivels are currently qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, so there’s a tournament to come next summer. Martinez would surely want to be a part of the World Cup given the talented squad at his disposal, so he might not want to depart just yet.
The Villa hierarchy will want a new manager in place before the international break ends, so they can’t afford to hang about. A lot of fans don’t believe it’s a major loss if the 48-year-old misses out.
In other news, Matty Cash posts pictures on IG of ‘first session’ with national team
