With Aston Villa desperately looking to stave off relegation, Randy Lerner is attempting a serious shakeup at Villa Park and put behind them years of flirting with the drop. Apparently part of that shakeup includes a big new job.
According to a report on ESPNFC, Lerner is looking to fill a Director of Football job, and one of the names he’s looking towards is a fellow American, Bob Bradley.
Bradley is incredibly well connected thanks to his versatile work resume, and had expressed interest in the vacant Villa managing job a number of years ago. In addition, the report states Lerner and chief executive Tom Fox hold respect for Bradley’s prior work and would be interested in teaming up with the former USMNT head coach.
The report states Lerner is looking to get his new front office set in stone “as soon as possible,” but with Villa struggling to secure its place in the Premier League next season, it’s possible many of the candidates will wait to see whether the club maintains its top-flight status or falls to the Championship before truly signing on. It’s likely this is a position that won’t be filled until the summer after things at the bottom of the table shake out.
Bradley is currently the manager of Norwegian side Sabaek, whom he joined early last year and has enjoyed success during his time abroad. Despite Villa’s struggles the past few years, the club is still one of the larger and more stable ones in England, giving its position in the relegation zone even more surprise. Consequently, the job would be a relatively attractive one even if the team does end up relegated for the first time since 1987. However, candidates would likely want to make sure they have power to make decisions, with Lerner known to keep his hand in many of the dealings in the past.
According to the report, another candidate vying for the job is Damien Comolli, a man with plenty of European experience in the Director of Football position at Tottenham and Liverpool, and has worked in the scouting and player recruitment departments at Arsenal, Monaco, and St. Etienne.