5 potential managers for Aston Villa 

It's been a turbulent few months for Aston Villa fans. Following a dramatic play-off final defeat to Fulham, the former Premier League club's future was thrown into uncertainty over the Summer thanks to financial problems, before the club was saved by a pair of billionaires with days to spare.

Their Championship campaign has begun in an equally nerve-wracking fashion, with the club having only won 3 of their opening 10 games so far this season.

Things took another twist at Aston Villa this week when, following a dramatic 3-3 draw with Championship strugglers, Preston North End, the club finally decided to put Steve Bruce out of his misery on Wednesday.

The hunt for a new manager will begin today for Villa, and there are already plenty of exciting names being thrown around by their fans. With their new investment, the club is once again an attractive prospect for potential managers, and with the right backing, a promotion-winning campaign could be on the cards for the Midlands club.

Getting the appointment right is going to be absolutely essential to Aston Villa's success this season, so let's take at the five most likely candidates to replace Steve Bruce at Aston Villa.

#5: Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers has won back to back league titles at Celtic

Quite frankly, there are not many jobs as easy in football as managing Celtic. Brendan Rodgers, who arrived at the club in 2016, has won nearly 70% of his games in all competitions in the last two years and has managed to successfully make the gap between Celtic and the rest of the Scottish Premier League even bigger.

While Rodgers is no doubt enjoying his time North of the border, there is every chance that the former Liverpool manager may fancy a return to English football, and Villa could prove to be the perfect opportunity for him.

Rodgers has previous experience in the Championship, helping to mastermind Swansea's first ever promotion to the top-flight back in the 2010/11 season, and he could be seen as a serious contender for the Aston Villa hot-seat.

#4: Thierry Henry

Henry was linked with the Villa job at the start of the season

Rumours were doing the rounds at the start of the season that Thierry Henry was set to make an astonishing return to English football by replacing Steve Bruce as Aston Villa manager.

Obviously, that never came to pass, but with the Villa hot seat now open, would the Frenchman reconsider making the move? Henry is one of the most popular figures in English football, and his appointment would certainly help get the fans excited.

While the former Arsenal man doesn't have any real managerial experience, he has been the assistant manager at Belgium since 2016 and helped lead the Belgians to a third-place finish in this year's World Cup.

Henry would be seen as a massive coup for Villa, and given his pedigree, would also be seen as a serious statement of intent from the Midland's club.

#3: John Terry

John Terry led Villa to Wembley last season

John Terry has been without a club since leaving Aston Villa at the end of last season, with the former Chelsea and England skipper turning down a move to Moscow last month, and now fans believe he may have just been waiting for a managerial appointment to pop up.

While Terry has no previous managerial experience, he is one of the best-connected players in the game, and given that he played for Villa last season, he is likely to be well respected within the club.

Terry may also look to follow his former Chelsea team-mate, Frank Lampard into management, and could see Villa as the perfect club to make his name at.

#2: Paulo Fonseca

Fonseca is fairly unknown in England

24 hours ago, there wouldn't have been many Aston Villa fans who would have known the name Paulo Fonseca.

The Portuguese manager is currently in charge of Ukranian champions, Shakhtar Donetsk, and is now considered one of the favourites for the Aston Villa job.

Swapping Champions League football for the Black Country is not something most managers would be willing to do, but there is one very special link between Fonseca and Aston Villa, and that is Portuguese super-agent, Jorge Mendes.

Mendes, who just so happens to be Fonseca's agent, was instrumental in getting Nuno Espirito Santo to move to Villa's Black Country rivals, Wolves, and it looks as though Villa will be hoping that he can work his magic once again with Fonseca.

#1: Dean Smith

Dean Smith has done an excellent job at Brentford

Dean Smith's Brentford are currently flying high in 6th place in the Championship, and while they may have only won one more game than Aston Villa so far this season, they have achieved that with a much tighter budget.

Smith arrived at Brentford back in 2015 and has since taken the club to consecutive top half finishes since his arrival.

Smith's Brentford team have been labelled as the most entertaining side in the Championship thanks to their dynamic attacking football, and excitement is something Villa fans have been desperate to see for some time now.

While he may not be as glamorous as some of the other names on this list, Smith has proved that he is an incredibly capable manager at this level and that he deserves a chance to show what he can do at a bigger club.

There is the possibility that Brentford won't allow their manager to leave, of course, but given the money that Villa have at their disposal, that issue will be easily overcome.