Next Aston Villa manager: Who could take over at Villa Park?

With the club 16th in the Premier League and in need of an upturn in results, we take a look at the names being linked with the vacant hot seat.

Steven Gerrard - 6/4

Currently the runaway favourite to take over, Steven Gerrard has done a fine job cutting his teeth in management north of the border with Rangers.

The Liverpool and England legend led the Scottish giants to the 20/21 title without losing a single league match, winning 32 games en-route to 102 points.

He's lost just a single game so far this season in the Scottish top flight, and is sure to be a hot managerial prospect in the midst of such a fantastic spell at the club.

English football is the next natural step in his career, but he'll likely be eyeing an eventual return to Liverpool at some point.

He's well known to Villa CEO Christian Purslow too, with the chief having worked at Liverpool as managing director previously.

There's no guarantees that he wants to leave Rangers though, he may well want to see out the season in Glasgow.

Roberto Martinez - 9/1

A man with much more experience than Gerrard as a manager, but certainly with mixed fortunes is Roberto Martinez.

Many Villa fans will know the Spaniard from his time with Swansea, Wigan and Everton, where it's fair to say he blew hot and cold.

He managed to win the FA Cup with the Latics, but also saw them go down in the same season - so he knows highs and lows in club management.

Martinez also endured mixed times at Everton, guiding the club to fifth in 2014, before facing tough times the next season and getting the sack with the club 12th in the table.

Most recently, Martinez has been in charge of the Belgium national team - but whilst the nation have led the FIFA rankings, they've not claimed any major silverware with him at the helm.

Kasper Hjulmand - 10/1

In terms of Premier League experience, Kasper Hjulmand is a man with none whatsoever - but his stock is very high following Denmark's rapid rise on the international stage.

Hjulmand took over the national team ahead of the delayed EURO 2020 tournament and guided the side to the semi-finals, in which they lost in extra time to England.

Apart from that, the 49-year-old has managed in his native Denmark with Lyngby and Nordsjaelland, whilst also having a brief spell with Mainz 05 - which yielded little success.

Whilst his work on the international stage has impressed, it's fair to say that Villa would be the biggest club job Hjulmand will face should he be given the opportunity to take the reins.

He does have links with Villa's sporting director Johan Lange though, so that could play a part if he's to be handed an interview.

Paulo Fonseca - 10/1

A man who's seen his name linked with a number of big jobs in English football is Paulo Fonseca.

The 48-year-old was tipped to be named Newcastle manager at one point, and also saw his name mentioned heavily when Spurs were seeking a manager over the summer to, but to no avail.

Now he's being tipped to take over at Villa Park, with the former defender seemingly keen to get into the English game.

The Portuguese boss had success at Shakhtar Donetsk before making the move to Serie A, but couldn't bring a trophy to Roma before departing the club in May of this year.

He's renowned for a possession based, attacking style of play - but you do wonder why he's not been appointed by another Premier League side before now.

Frank Lampard - 12/1

From an unknown quantity to a much more well-known one - Frank Lampard is awaiting his next role in English football having left Chelsea earlier this year.

The ex-Blues midfielder took the reins at Stamford Bridge having guided Derby County to the playoff final which saw Dean Smith get Villa back to the promised land.

Now, both managers are out of work, but Lampard looks likely to test the water once again sooner rather than later.

The 43-year-old is credited with a lot of praise for his work with Chelsea in his first season in charge, working under a transfer embargo and leading the club to the FA Cup final and the Champions League places.

However, he didn't fare well the following campaign, and was sacked as the club fell to ninth in the table - having spent serious cash the summer before.

Graham Potter - 12/1

If Villa want to stay local with their appointment, they could opt for one of the Premier League's up and coming managers in Graham Potter, who hails from Solihull.

The boyhood Villa fan would certainly keep the trend going of having a supporter of the club running the show, having followed the club as a youngster despite having featured for Birmingham City and West Brom during his career as a player.

However, he's deep into his project at Brighton, having impressed with Swedish side Ostersund before doing well in the Championship with Swansea.

He's impressed mightily with the Seagulls though, and is known for his expansive and exciting style of play - who knows what he could do with the backing of Villa's ambitious owners.

The real question, is whether he would consider departing the south coast club for a side almost ten places below them in the current table.

John Terry - 12/1

One man who already knows Villa incredibly well is John Terry, but having left the club ahead of the season, could he be drafted in once again?

Terry was of course Dean Smith's long-time assistant at B6, taking on that role following his retirement from playing after Villa's failure to gain promotion under Steve Bruce.

Having learned from the ex-Villa boss, he would certainly have an in-depth knowledge of the club itself - but does lack experience as a number one, as he awaits his first job in management.

Given Villa's ambition, it seems unlikely that they'd opt for a rookie manager to take on the reins, but stranger things have happened.

Ralph Hasenhuttl - 14/1

Finally, Ralph Hasenhuttl is a man who was quickly linked with a move to Villa Park following the announcement of Dean Smith's exit.

He's done well with Southampton, having been handed very little in terms of finances in comparison to other clubs in the top flight.

He's not averse to a poor run of form though, and has memorably survived two 9-0 thumpings during his spell at Saints boss.

There are few managers capable of surviving such results, but it's a testament to his ability that he's managed to do so at St Mary's.

The question many fans would ask though, would be whether he's an upgrade on Dean Smith? Not many would think so, you'd imagine.

Other names in the hat:

Nuno Espirito Santo (20/1), Lucien Favre (25/1), Thomas Frank (25/1), Scott Parker (25/1), Joachim Lowe (33/1), Andre Villas-Boas (33/1), Unai Emery (33/1), Roberto Mancini (40/1).