Aston Villa handed huge next manager boost amid release clause claim - and it’s bad news for Wolves

Aston Villa have reportedly been handed a boost in their search for a Steven Gerrard replacement, with Ruben Amorim said to be a genuine contender. The Sporting Lisbon manager, who has been heavily linked with Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent weeks, could be available for a fee much cheaper than previously thought.

It was widely reported last week that acquiring Amorim would be an incredibly expensive task, given his release clause was expected to be between £27-£30 million. Now though, reports in The Telegraph and the BBC suggest the manager’s clause could actually be triggered for a fee far lower than that.

It is said Amorim would be available for around £10 million - far less than what was originally estimated, which would have been a world record. This lower amount is ‘unlikely to deter’ Villa, who have reportedly already made an approach for the 37-year-old.

The former Portuguese international midfielder has completely transformed Sporting since joining in March 2020 - directing them to their first league title in 19 years, reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, and reinstating a feel-good atmosphere that had previously lacked.

This season has been largely different, though, with Benfica running away as table toppers with 28 points from just 30 available. Sporting meanwhile sit in fourth with 19 points, having won six, drawn one and lost three. Recent results have gone much more in their favour, however, with three successive victories.

Despite an approach reportedly being made, Amorim is actually not the bookies’ favourite to take over at this stage. Instead, it is former Arsenal head coach Unai Emery, who has had his odds slashed to 2/5 as of Monday afternoon. Amorim’s odds stand at 6/1 at the time of publication.

Winning an unprecedented three consecutive Europa League titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, and then adding another win to his collection in 2021 with Villarreal, Emery has built quite a reputation in football.

The Spaniard has an abundance of experience working at the highest level, having managed in three of Europe’s top five leagues and taken an array of sides to the Champions League. In his current position, Emery has helped Villarreal to two successive 7th-place La Liga finishes.

Emery - compared to Amorim - has a far more impressive history of winning trophies - but what the latter has done in such a short period of time with Sporting can’t be overlooked. Both could be good appointments in their own right, but as it stands, the search for a new man in the dugout is still ongoing.