Steven Gerrard has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Aston Villa to become the new club’s manager.
The former Liverpool captain leaves the Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers after three seasons having guided them to a first league title in 10 years last season.
Gerrard replaces Dean Smith, who was sacked on Sunday after a run of five successive defeats.
Villa is currently 16th in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone as have not collected a Premier League point since beating Manchester United on 25 September.
“Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach,” said Gerrard.
“In my conversations with [co-owners] Nassef [Sawiris], Wes [Edens] and the rest of the board, it was apparent how ambitious their plans are for the club and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their aims.”
Gerrard made his professional coaching debut with Scottish Premiership side Rangers in 2018, and leaves with them four points clear of rivals Celtic at the top of the table.
Reportedly, Aston Villa has paid Rangers £4.5m in compensation.
Gerrard’s first match in charge will be at home to Brighton after the international break, with matches against top-four sides Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea among those to follow before the end of 2021.
He is well known to Villa chief executive Christian Purslow, who was previously managing director at Liverpool.
Gerrard played 710 games for Liverpool, winning nine trophies, and spent a season at MLS team LA Galaxy in 2015 before retiring as a player the following year.
He coached at Liverpool’s youth academy before managing the under-18 team during the 2017-18 season.
Gerrard is England’s fourth-most capped player with 114 international appearances, in which he scored 21 goals.