According to a recent report from The Daily Record, Eddie Howe is one name on the Aston Villa managerial shortlist. The 40-year-old is currently in charge of Premier League side Bournemouth and has been since returning to the South Coast outfit back in 2012, in which time he has overseen a meteoric rise to help the Cherries become an established top-flight club.

And the marvellous job he has done at the Vitality Stadium appears to have interested managerless Championship side Aston Villa, who are reportedly keen on the Englishman replacing Steve Bruce at Villa Park following the latter’s sacking at the start of the month.

And while the ambition is clearly there in targeting someone like Howe for the role, these recent links with the 40-year-old, a manager that is simply not going to make the move to Villa Park given his current situation at Bournemouth, should be of worry to Villa fans, as it suggests that the club’s hierarchy have got no idea what they are doing.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, Bruce’s departure was becoming increasingly inevitable given the bad run his team were on prior to his sacking earlier this month, and since then several names have been linked with the vacant post, including Thierry Henry, Brendan Rodgers, and of course Bournemouth boss Howe.

And while Howe is without doubt one of the most highly-rated young managers in the country at present given the job he is doing at Bournemouth, he simply isn’t going to leave a side sat sixth in the Premier League for one 15th in the Championship, regardless of how big a club Villa are.

In fact, it’s arguable that Howe could well get a job at a top Premier League club in the coming years having taken Bournemouth from the depths of League Two to becoming an established side in the top-flight in recent times, a team that are currently the best of the rest in sitting sixth in the top tier.

And while some Villa fans have taken to Twitter to laugh off the rumours linking Howe with the Villa Park hotseat, it does suggest that the club’s hierarchy haven’t really got much of an idea of what they are doing when it comes to finding Bruce’s successor.

Obviously, Howe would be an excellent appointment and one that would excite several Villa fans, but they are realistic to know that it simply won’t happen - and when one looks at the other names in the frame, there are doubts about some of them as well.

Arsenal legend Henry may well have been on the Belgium coaching staff since 2016, but he has no prior experience of being the number one man - he was one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen during his playing days, but the jury is still out on his management credentials.

Yes, the Villa hierarchy may well get it right in terms of replacing Bruce, but some of the signs coming out of the club at present suggest a board that haven’t really got much of an idea on what they are doing - the Howe links only serve to highlight that even further.

Villa fans… what do you think? Let us know!