Steven Gerrard is set to appear on television as a pundit for England’s upcoming matches against Italy and Ukraine.
Gerrard has been without a job since being sacked by Aston Villa last October. He has kept a low profile since losing his first Premier League management job, although he has been linked with Poland, Leeds and Trabzonspor in recent months.
The 42-year-old retains managerial ambitions but will work for Channel 4 on the broadcaster’s coverage of England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers. Gerrard will join Jill Scott and Joe Cole in a punditry role while Jules Breach will occupy the presenting hot seat, Steve Bower will commentate and Kelly Somers will report from pitchside.
Gerrard will provide analysis when England travel to Naples to play Italy on Thursday and when they host Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday. Gerrard has previously worked as a pundit for BT Sport on the channel’s Champions League coverage and was on TV for Liverpool's 5-2 thrashing by Real Madrid last month.
The matches will be the Three Lions’ first in their efforts to qualify for Euro 2024, which will take place across Germany next summer. Gareth Southgate’s side have been drawn in Group C, alongside Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia.
Gerrard has gone five months without employment after being let go by Villa less than a year into the role. He won just 13 of his 40 games at Villa and left them in 17th, with just two wins from their opening 10 Premier League fixtures this season.
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He was linked with the Poland job in January after the country’s football association decided not to renew the contract of Czeslaw Michniewicz. But former Portugal boss Fernando Santos eventually landed the job ahead of Gerrard, who has no international management experience.
Earlier this month, it was reported that he had visited Istanbul to have dinner with Ertugrul Dogan, who is running to become president of Trabzonspor. The Turkish club remain without a manager after Abdullah Avci quit, but a job offer has yet to materialise.
After working in the youth teams at Liverpool, Gerrard cut his teeth as a manager at Rangers. He won the Scottish Premiership in the 2020/21 season and claimed 125 wins from 193 games in charge before moving down to Birmingham to take the Villa job.
He was replaced by Unai Emery and the Spanish boss has overseen an upturn in form. Emery has won eight of his 16 games in charge, helping Villa rise to 11th in the Premier League table with their 3-0 victory over Bournemouth on the weekend.
Gerrard will use his time on Channel 4 to put his name back out there on the managerial market. His experience in racking up 114 appearances for England between 2000 and 2014 positions him well as a pundit for the free-to-air broadcaster.
