As Aston Villa continue to reestablish themselves as a top-eight Premier League side, supporters will be excited to see what direction the club’s future will take, especially since the arrival of Steven Gerrard as manager.
Though we don’t have Doctor Who’s Tardis to travel into the future, we do have the next best thing - Football Manager.
The popular video game franchise is renowned for its attention to detail and authentic approach to the world of football management, and we decided to take a look at the status of the club in five years to see if things at Villa Park have progressed.
Fast forward to 2026, and it’s all change for Villa.
Nine members of their current side are still in the match day squad, but the big news is that Steven Gerrard is no longer at the club.
The former English international survived four full seasons with Villa before being sacked in November 2025, with the club an established Premier League club by then.
Nevertheless, his signings since his arrival led to four top-eight finishes, while his last season didn’t go quite to plan, being dismissed with the club in the bottom-half of the table.
Check out Villa’s impressive new squad, according to Football Manager 2022, below…
1. Manager: Marco Silva
The Portuguese manager took over from Gerrard in January 2026 but failed to replicate the former boss’ top-eight finishes, with the club coming 14th in the 2025-26 campaign. To add insult to injury, the club lost in the UEFA Conference League final 2-1 to Real Sociedad. | Getty Images
2. Goalkeeper: Emi Martinez
Martinez remains Villa’s no.1 in the future and even takes the captain’s armband. However, he didn’t make much of an impact for his country, only earning 10 caps for Argentina. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
3. Right-back: Matty Cash
One of their most consistent performers over the next few years, averaging a rating of 7.02 and above for Villa, as well as earning 40 caps for Poland. | Getty Images
4. Centre-back: Neuhen Perez
A £5.5m summer signing from Houston Dynamo in 2023, Neuhen Perez was used in rotation with other centre-backs at the club, but performed well throughout. | Getty Images