Aston Villa coach Mark Delaney
Aston Villa under-23s manager Mark Delaney will leave the club at the end of the season, according to Gregg Evans for The Athletic.
The Lowdown: Delaney’s CV as Villa under-23 boss
The 45-year-old has been in charge of the development side at Bodymoor Heath since 2015 and has helped a number of academy players break through to the first team.
He has also had success with the under-23s, guiding the club to their first FA Youth Cup triumph since 2002 last season as they defeated Liverpool in the final at Villa Park, but it looks as if his association in the Midlands will come to an end over the next few months.
The Latest: Evans shares Delaney update
Evans, who is Villa’s correspondent for The Athletic, shared a story on Saturday revealing that the 45-year-old is to leave his current role in charge of the under-23s over the summer.
Delaney has already been informed of the planned change by NSWE, with Birmingham Live describing it as a ‘shock’ decision when reporting the news.
How many more signings do Villa need to make this summer?
0-2
3-4
5-6
6+
The Verdict: Interesting…
Villa have made a number of academy additions over the last 12 months, one of which has been Tim Iroegbunam, who is already considered a member of Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad after penning a new contract.
There’s no questioning the enormity of the young talent on the books at Bodymoor Heath, so it will be interesting to see who NSWE bring in as Delaney’s replacement over the coming months to potentially work closely with Gerrard.
The under-23s finished 10th in Premier League 2’s second tier, so perhaps Villa believe that a new coach will get more out of the starlets and take them up a division to face the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool on a regular basis.
In other news: Gerrard now keen on signing ‘fabulous’ £40,000-a-week talent at the top of his game
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