Jamie Carragher has urged Aston Villa to appoint former Arsenal manager Unai Emery as Steven Gerrard’s replacement.
Villarreal boss Emery has emerged as Villa’s top target to replace sacked former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard.
Gerrard, 42, lost his job after Aston Villa’s dismal 3-0 defeat to Fulham last week and departed with the club just one place above the relegation zone.
In their first game since Gerrard’s sacking, Villa smashed Brentford 4-0 under caretaker manager Aaron Danks.
Aston Villa approached former Paris Saint-Germain manager and ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel after axing Gerrard but both have snubbed the chance to take over at Villa Park.
Villa have now turned their attentions to Emery and Liverpool legend Carragher believes he would be a ‘fantastic appointment’.
Emery struggled during his spell at Arsenal after replacing Arsene Wenger as manager but has won major trophies at PSG, Sevilla and Villarreal.
Carragher said on Sky Sports: ‘I think it would be a fantastic appointment. I’m a huge fan of Unai Emery.
‘If you look at his career, he’s had a lot of his success with teams just below the elite, those teams almost fighting with the bigger clubs.
‘It didn’t go well for him at Arsenal but you look at what he did at Villarreal, Europa League winners, pushed Liverpool in the Champions League as well.
‘No disrespect but he’s not the type of manager for Barcelona or Real Madrid but he can compete against big teams with more money.
‘He gets his teams really organised and he’s a super coach. For Aston Villa right now, that would be a great appointment.’
Emery is out of contract next summer and has not yet signed a new deal with Villarreal, who he joined in 2020.
Newcastle United also expressed interest in luring Emery from Spain last year following Steve Bruce’s sacking but the 50-year-old turned down the job.
Aston Villa have also held talks with highly-rated Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim but he appears reluctant to leave Sporting Lisbon.
MORE : Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp sends message to sacked Steven Gerrard
MORE : Coutinho ‘should apologise’ to Steven Gerrard after Aston Villa sacking
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