Thierry Henry is set to take his first steps into football management.
The 40-year-old, who has been assistant manager to Roberto Martinez with Belgium for the past two years, has reportedly 'verbally agreed' to take over as boss of Aston Villa. That is according to the Daily Star, who have a source close to negotiations between Henry and the club.
Aston Villa recently received major investment from NSWE, a company jointly owned by Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris and American Wes Edens. Together, they purchased a controlling 55 per cent stake from Tony Xia.
An immediate outcome of this investment has been uncertainty regarding Steve Bruce's position as manager. In his second season in charge of the club, Bruce took Villa to fourth in the Championship, eventually losing out on promotion to Fulham in the playoff final in May. If he is to be ousted as manager, the 57-year-old will have to be paid off.
The situation does have a whiff of new owners coming in, not liking the look of Bruce and wanting the shiny new option of Henry.
The Frenchman last week stepped away from his punditry role with Sky Sports - a lucrative job he had held for the past three years - to concentrate on coaching.
If he does take over, Henry will have three Irish internationals in his squad: Conor Hourihane, Glenn Whelan and Scott Hogan.
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