Aston Villa coach Michael Beale has spoken to Charlton Athletic over the club's managerial vacancy, it has been revealed.

The lowdown

New Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard brought Beale, part of his coaching staff at Rangers, to the Midlands.

It's not the first time there's been interest from a Football League Club this autumn.

Beale was a contender to replace Mick McCarthy at Cardiff City earlier this month, but the Bluebirds went with Steve Morrison in the end.

The former Liverpool Under-23 boss certainly isn't short on admirers, with former Villan Stiliyan Petrov hailing him as an 'incredible coach' and a 'powerful communicator'.

The latest

Speaking to London News Online, Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard confirmed that there has been discussions with Beale.

But while he's of course impressed with the 41-year-old's CV, he suggested that he would be a less 'ambitious' appointment than some other of their candidates.

"He has a fantastic track record, especially on the supporting side. Of course we talked to Michael.

"We've also been a little more ambitious than that, in terms of the level of managers we’ve been reaching for."

The verdict

After approaches from Cardiff and Charlton in relatively quick succession, Villa might be bracing themselves for further interest, as it certainly seems like a lower-league hot-seat is the next logical step in his coaching career.

And it would be a big blow if Beale was lured away, with one former Rangers player describing the 'amazing' coach as 'the brains' behind Gerrard's success.

Encouragingly for Villa fans, though, Cardiff ultimately looked elsewhere, and Charlton appear to have reservations about his lack of experience too. Even though he's earned a great deal of respect, perhaps he's not thought to be totally ready to be the main man just yet.

In other news, fans react to Gerrard's Tyrone Mings assessment.