The City boss is hoping his defensive shield is at the club for “many, many years” as he gets set to be a subject of transfer interest again this summer, with Aston Villa the latest club to be named as a suitor.
Browsing: Aston Villa
The Toffees went down 2-1 to Norwich City in an embarrassing defeat last weekend, while Steven Gerrard’s side rescued a point in a 2-2 draw versus Manchester United.
Villa boss, Steven Gerrard, has already recruited one of his former Liverpool teammates this month following the arrival of Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona with a £33million option to buy.
The Red Devils recorded a 1-0 victory over Villa when the two teams met in the FA Cup on Monday, with Scott McTominay scoring the only goal of the third-round contest at Old Trafford.
The 36-year-old was left out of the Red Devils’ squad for their third round FA Cup win against Aston Villa on Monday evening, and the German boss has now confirmed that his absence was due to a minor muscular injury.
Aston Villa will pay around half Coutinho’s salary for the duration of the deal, which will expire in the summer.
Reece James’ own goal put Villa ahead, but Jorginho quickly levelled from the penalty spot in a clash between two of the many English sides hit by cases of coronavirus.
Earlier last week, Gerrard suggested that the West Midlands outfit were continuing to cope with an ongoing coronavirus outbreak, revealing that he may be required to call upon a number of ‘fringe’ players against Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Villa return to action sitting in 10th position, a consequence of recording 12 points from six matches since Steven Gerrard’s arrival.
The match becomes the latest to be postponed due to sparked rise of Covid-19.
Villa were victorious on Tuesday night, recording a 2-0 win at Norwich City, but Burnley saw their clash with Watford, scheduled for Wednesday, called off at the final moment due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Claudio Ranieri’s squad.
The Reds saw off AC Milan 2-1 in the Champions League in midweek, while the visitors triumphed over Leicester City by the same scoreline last weekend.
Steven Gerrard’s side will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday, while Leicester played out a 2-2 draw with Southampton on the same night.
The 18-year-old came on as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester City on Wednesday, after reports that the youngster was planning to reject a new contract at the club amid concerns over breaking into the first XI.
Gerrard left Rangers during the international break to replace Dean Smith, who was sacked following five successive Premier League defeats, and got Villa Park bouncing again with two late goals.
Gerrard took over from Dean Smith at the helm during the international break, with Villa having lost their last five Premier League games.
The Liverpool legend has been with Glasgow Rangers for the past three seasons, in what is his first job in senior football management.
Smith took over as Villa manager in 2018 and led the club out of the Championship and into the Premier League. They finished 11th last season but have endured a slide in the current campaign – the defeat at St Mary’s was their fifth straight loss.
The Hammers are currently fourth in the table, having picked up 17 points from their opening nine matches, while Villa sit down in 15th, with Dean Smith’s side collecting 10 points from their first nine fixtures.
The result lifted Arsenal up to ninth place on the table, having secured 14 points from nine games thus far this campaign