Steven Gerrard is expected to become the new manager of Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq.
Gerrard, 43, has been out of the game after being sacked at Aston Villa in October 2022. The ex-Liverpool midfielder was dismissed following Villa's 3-0 defeat at Fulham, which left the West Midlands outfit 17th on two victories from their first 11 Premier League matches.
Since his departure, Gerrard has been working as a pundit on Channel 4's coverage of England and was present at both of March's Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Italy and Ukraine. Gerrard was also working at the Three Lions' thumping 7-0 win over North Macedonia.
As for Gerrard's managerial future, he was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in early June. The proposed move began to cool, meanwhile, as Gerrard was unsure about whether he wanted to make the switch. He had also emerged as the favourite for the vacant Sheffield Wednesday job after the sacking of Darren Moore.
Speaking about his future on June 19, Gerrard said: "A lot has been said in the media, a lot of it is not true. I was invited over there to look at a potential offer, which I did, and I have been analysing that over the last couple of days. But, as we stand right now, I won't be taking that offer up."
However, Gerrard has performed a mini U-turn and is now set to take over at Al Ettifaq, who finished seventh in the Saudi Pro League last season. He will follow a number of big-name stars in the footballing world to make the move to the Middle-East this summer.
Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly are amongst those to have joined the Saudi Pro League revolution - six months after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr. Nuno Espirito Santo is arguably the most high-profile manager currently in Saudi Arabia at the moment.
Although Al Ettifaq aren't considered as one of the 'big four' clubs in Saudi Arabia, they certainly won't be strapped for cash in the summer window. Gerrard, who is set to be one of the best-paid coaches in the game, could be handed a huge transfer kitty, and is said to want to bolster their forward line. Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho have been linked with moves to Al Ettifaq - to team up with Gerrard.
Gerrard brought Coutinho to Villa in January 2022 after a disastrous spell at Barcelona . The Brazilian later admitted that the key reason behind his move to Villa Park was Gerrard, for whom he also worked with at Liverpool . Coutinho has failed to impress at Villa, however, scoring just six times in 41 matches.
Mane, meanwhile, could be ready to leave Bayern Munich despite only signing a year ago from Liverpool. He hasn't enjoyed the best of times at the Allianz Arena thus far, striking 12 goals in 38 appearances. The 31-year-old won the Bundesliga in his debut campaign but might be set for the exit door.
