Bundesliga News

Reports suggest Pochettino is the Villa owners’ preferred candidate to replace Gerrard, who was sacked soon after his side’s 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Thursday despite awkwardly insisting he was a “fighter” in his post-match interview.

It remains to be seen who will next be in the Villa hotseat, with former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel both likely to be among the contenders.

Several Arsenal stars have stepped up to the plate this season, but none more so than Xhaka.

“We had some wrong’uns at Everton as well, and I think those are the ones that stood out more than anything,” Howard told the Fozcast. “One was horrific; Royston Drenthe.”

Asked about those concerns, head coach Howe said: “We’ve made a football decision. We’ve looked at the World Cup break, what’s the best thing for the team.

Given how much money has been invested into the Villa side since Gerrard’s arrival, the expectations were always going to be high at Villa Park.

In his column for The Telegraph, Carragher wrote: ‘I have written on many occasions that money is no guarantee of success. Manchester United are proof of that since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. But it is guaranteed you will not be successful without lots of money, and the more you have the better your chances. Is that really a controversial statement?

Ajax have a reputation of one of the best ran clubs in Europe and United are keen to get Van der Sar on board.

Klopp said: “I am sure he will come back from that. I’ve been 7 years at Liverpool, we’ve not met a lot for different reasons, but we created a close relationship and I’ve always followed him. Had a quick exchange this morning, nothing too deep.

“I knew building it up to be a team in the Premier League that we thought could be successful was never going to be easy.