David Moyes has reportedly withdrawn himself from the race to become Aston Villa manager this summer, according to BBC Sport.
The former Everton and Manchester United boss was believed to be on a three-man shortlist compiled by the soon-to-be Championship outfit, with owner Tony Xia breathing a new lease of life into the club following his takeover earlier this month.
While the Chinese businessman has ambitious plans for the future of the club, it remains to be seen who is first appointment is in terms of the team’s manager, as it will likely be a critical decision that he can’t afford to get wrong.
After leaving Real Sociedad last November, Moyes has now ruled out himself out of contention for the Villa job, thus leaving it open to either Roberto Di Matteo or Nigel Pearson, as noted by the BBC.
It is claimed that Villa’s drop to the Championship coupled with the need for a quick decision put the 53-year-old off, but from Villa’s point of view, it was a necessary move given that they have a significant amount of work to do this summer in order to put themselves in the best possible position to book an immediate return to the top flight.
In turn, they will now likely switch their focus to either Di Matteo or Pearson, with both men previously showing that they are capable of getting a club promoted from the Championship with West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City respectively.
Xia has already insisted that the transfer budget and future decisions will be made in conjunction with the new manager, and so Villa supporters will be hoping that an appointment can be made sooner rather than later in order to get a better idea of how much ambition and desire the new owner will show.