Steven Gerrard lined up by Aston Villa TWO YEARS ago as Rangers boss moves back on to EPL club’s radar

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Aston Villa were lining up a move for Steven Gerrard almost TWO YEARS ago before Dean Smith pulled himself back from the brink.

Villa Park CEO Christian Purslow was set to axe Smith if they had lost a crucial fixture away to relegation rivals Burnley on Ne’erday 2020.

But goals from Wesley and Jack Grealish earned the Midlands giants a huge 2-1 victory to move them out of the relegation zone.And that earned Smith a stay of execution with Purslow racing on the pitch to celebrate at Turf Moor that day to illustrate how big a win it was.Explaining why Purslow was on the pitch that day, Smith said: “He’s just really pleased with the result, after the last performance we wanted to get something on the road and it’s a great way to start the