'Never say never' – England and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard tipped for return to former club
11/10/2024 03:24 AM
England and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has been tipped for a sensational return to one of his former clubs.
Gerrard, 44, is under huge pressure at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, who have slipped to 12th in the table after winning just three of their opening 12 league games.
The Anfield hero took the job in Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023 and signed a two-year contract extension in January to keep him at the club until 2027.
But Al-Ettifaq are reportedly considering sacking Gerrard following a dismal run of form which has left the club just four points above the relegation zone.
Gerrard is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history despite never winning the title during his 16-year spell at Liverpool.
He was one of the standout players in the country for well over a decade and made 114 appearances for England – the fourth most in history behind David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Peter Shilton.
Since retiring in 2016, Gerrard has managed Scottish giants Rangers, Premier League club Aston Villa and Saudi side Al-Ettifaq.
His best spell as a manager came at Rangers, where in 2020-21 he led the club through an incredible season in which they stormed to the Scottish Premiership title without losing a league game and beat arch-rivals Celtic twice.
Rangers have fallen away since that record-breaking campaign and are currently third in the table, 12 points behind early leaders Aberdeen after just 10 games.
Gers manager Philippe Clement is facing the sack following the team’s underwhelming performances and ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy has refused to rule out the possibility of Gerrard returning to Ibrox.
‘I think it would be hard to replicate what Steven Gerrard did at Rangers before because they’re struggling,’ former Premier League star Murphy told Boylesports, who offer the latest Champions League odds.
‘Their squad is inferior to Celtic and the gap has got much bigger since he left.
‘But he’s a determined man who wants to work hard and if he was to go back there and then win the league again and overcome Celtic again then it would be a huge achievement.
‘It's hard to see him being back there but never say never.’
Rangers will look to produce an improved performance on Sunday evening when they play host to struggling Hearts.
Just last week, Scottish football legend Chris Sutton questioned why Rangers were persisting with Belgian boss Clement.
‘Look, no one likes seeing anyone lose their job,’ he told the Daily Record. ‘But you've got to wonder how bad it has to get before someone – anyone – at Ibrox makes a big decision.
‘We keep hearing Clement and his players saying they can still compete for the title. Right now it's hard to see them even competing for second.
‘The club is not in great shape off the park right now with no permanent chairman, no chief executive and no director of football.
‘They have the Belgian Beale in charge. I can't believe quite how off the rails the manager has gone. After his first few months there were positive signs.
‘He secured a trophy and spoke a lot of sense. After the nonsense of Michael Beale, they looked to have a sensible, serious operator in charge.
‘They now have a Belgian waffler who is spouting the kind of gibberish that Pedro Caixinha came out with.
‘The warning signs were there last year with his “moral victory” against Celtic, and it's got worse and worse.’
Two of Gerrard’s former clubs – Liverpool and Aston Villa – are thriving under Arne Slot and Unai Emery respectively.
The Anfield club sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League following Saturday’s win over Villa, who are in a strong position in the Champions League following some memorable victories earlier in the campaign.
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