Aston Villa are set to 'hold talks' with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery over the vacant manager's role at the Midlands club, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Villa on the search for new manager

Steven Gerrard's sacking earlier in the week had been coming, with a consistently poor run of results in the Premier League ultimately leading to his demise, amid vocal supporter unrest in recent days and weeks.

Since then, Villa have been linked with several different managers as potential replacements, including Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Ruben Amorim.

Another name has now seemingly entered the race as NSWE look to nail their next appointment.

The Latest: Emery in the mix

According to Football Insider, Villa are planning to 'hold talks' with Emery over taking charge at the club, with the 50-year-old currently in the hot seat at Villarreal.

The Spaniard is described as one of NSWE's 'top targets' to become the new boss in the Midlands, and he is 'believed to be interested' in hearing out the Villa owners about the vacancy.

The Verdict: Proven pedigree

Emery has proven himself as a top-class manager for an extended period of time, so the idea of Villa snapping him up has to be considered an exciting one.

While his time at Arsenal proved to be forgettable overall, he has won the Europa League an incredible four times - a feat that no other manager can boast, not even when the UEFA Cup era is included.

Whether or not Emery is genuinely willing to leave a thriving Spanish club for struggling Villa is up for debate, but if the opportunity arises to get him, NSWE should go all-in on a manager who Jurgen Klopp has described as 'world class'.