Aston Villa’s defeat to Southampton on Friday was the latest setback in a long line for the Villans.
They are now without a single point from their last five Premier League matches and appeared to resemble a sinking ship under the stewardship of Dean Smith.
What’s the word?
With Villa sitting in 15th place heading into Sunday’s fixtures, it became abundantly clear that a change might be required in the dugout.
Villa sold Jack Grealish in the summer for £100m and any team would struggle if they lost a player of his talents.
However, after acquiring the likes of Danny Ings, Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey, expectations should still be high for the Midlands club.
Sadly, their form has fallen off a cliff and NSWE are now searching for a new boss after sacking Dean Smith on Sunday afternoon.
The Sun now suggest that Aston Villa want Kasper Hjulmand to potentially succeed Smith at Villa Park.
Leader of the year
Hjulmand is certainly a left-field choice but it’s one that makes sense. His achievements with Denmark this summer are well documented, as he took the competition’s dark horses to the semi-finals.
It was England who eventually knocked them out but they were undoubtedly the fairytale story from the tournament.
The nation captured the continent’s imagination after the reaction to Christian Eriksen’s horrendous collapse in their match against Finland.
Eriksen did thankfully recover and it was the way the team responded to that event that has won Hjulmand so much praise.
The Athletic sources quotes from local outlets in Denmark, hailing the 49-year-old. A magazine called Euroman read: “The national coach has been honest, vulnerable and at the same time tough if needed. This is how a modern leader acts, and Kasper Hjulmand has shown the way for all other leaders in this country. Hjulmand is the leader of the year.”
“We may not become European champions but instead, we have a new world champion in management. Kasper Hjulmand takes on the position as one of the greatest managerial role models in Denmark.”
It’s not just off the pitch duties that the manager excels in. He’s also a wonderful coach, one who players seem to warm easily too.
He is capable of getting teams to perform above their station, and that’s one of the key reasons why Villa should recruit him.
Not only did he overachieve with the Dane’s a few months ago, but he performed miracles with Nordsjaelland too.
In 2011/12, he guided a small team from just outside of Copenhagen to the Superliga title, qualifying for the Champions League in the process. It was a surreal year, one that was compared to a remarkable achievement that happened on English shores.
Former American defender, Michael Parkhurst, said of that achievement: “It was Leicester City-esque.
“We’re such a small club, fighting off relegation for a couple of seasons, then we get better and all of a sudden we have a magical year. And never throughout that time was he in awe of anything or too excited, he kept everyone level headed and grounded and realistic about expectations, so it doesn’t surprise me when the team, the country goes through something like they have and he’s so even-keeled. He’s able to keep the team together, handles the media and all the attention it brought to the team so well.”
With that in mind, he’d surely be a wonderful replacement at Villa Park now Smith has been told to pack his bags.
NSWE have ambitions of taking Villa into Europe and under Hjulmand, that dream could become a reality. He is a serial overachiever, one that would no doubt improve the Villans.
AND in other news, Forget Buendia: Villa must sign £18m-rated star who “every coach would love to have”…