In a surprise move, Villa have announced that highly regarded coach Craig Shakespeare would join the club as assistant to Dean Smith.
Shakespeare was assistant to Claudio Ranieri during Leicester’s Premier League triumph and took the hot-seat himself in 2017. He isn’t unfamiliar to Dean Smith either, having been a team-mate of his during their time playing for Walsall in the 1980’s.
More recently he has been at Goodison Park, before a switch to Watford, assisting Nigel Pearson, before both being inexplicably sacked just prior to their relegation last season.
There’s little doubt that this is a progressive appointment, with Shakespeare bringing not only a proven coaching CV to Villa Park, but also a winning pedigree too.
This of course means that Dean Smith now has three coaches aiding him, with Richard O’Kelly and John Terry having been by his side since his appointment in October 2018.
There does of course remain some uncertainty around John Terry’s future, with the former Chelsea captain known to want to prove himself in management in his own right and interest from both Bournemouth and Bristol City.
56 year old Shakespeare joins the club as it looks to kick on from a relegation near miss last term, ahead of what will likely be a summer of significant and vitally important player recruitment.
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