2NHDAMG Liverpool, UK. 21st Feb, 2023. Former player Steven Gerrard walks in from of the Kop during the UEFA Champions League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture credit should read: Andrew Yates/Sportimage Credit: Sportimage/Alamy Live News

Steven Gerrard linked with surprise new club – to manage ex-Liverpool team-mate

Steven Gerrard could return to management with a move abroad, according to new reports, which would see him work with an old Liverpool team-mate.

It is now four-and-a-half months since Gerrard was relieved of his duties at Aston Villa, and more recently he has returned to a media role.

That has included stints with LFCTV and covering Liverpool for BT Sport, with his affection for the Reds not changed since spells with both Rangers and Villa.

There has been a sense, even, that the 42-year-old would step away from management entirely, with a belief he may need to drop down the leagues to revive his reputation in England.

But according to Turkish publication Karar, Gerrard held talks on Saturday with a view to taking over at Super Lig side Trabzonspor.

The report claims that, with Trabzonspor due to appoint a new president later this month, current vice-president Ertugrul Dogan met with Gerrard and would appoint him successor to Abdullah Avci if he is elected.

Liverpool’s former No. 8 was pictured in Istanbul over the weekend, and is claimed to have had dinner with Dogan in the luxury Etiler region.

Trabzonspor, who won the Super Lig last season, are currently sixth behind Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Adana Demirspor and Istanbul Basaksehir.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - Saturday, January 10, 2015: Liverpool's Lazar Markovic celebrates scoring the only goal of the game against Sunderland with team-mate captain Steven Gerrard during the Premier League match at the Stadium of Light. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Among their squad is ex-Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic, who joined on loan from Gaziantep in February following his parent club’s withdrawal from the campaign due to the devastating earthquake in Turkiye.

Markovic, who played alongside Gerrard at Anfield in 2014/15, joined the likes of Marek Hamsik, Everton loanee Jean-Philippe Gbamin and former Villa forward Trezeguet in Trabzon.

Whether Gerrard will take the job remains to be seen, having been previously linked with the Poland national team before they appointed Fernando Santos.

But it is an interesting prospect, with Gerrard’s contemporary Andrea Pirlo also in management in the Super Lig, where he leads Fatih Karagumruk.

Another of the legendary Scouser’s former Liverpool team-mates, Nuri Sahin, is in charge of Antalyaspor, while Fabio Borini is the league’s second-top goalscorer, with 14 for Pirlo’s Karagumruk.

Borini also leads the Super Lig for assists (nine), while former West Ham and Everton striker Enner Valencia is the league’s top scorer (23).