Thierry Henry ‘verbally agrees’ to become new Aston Villa manager

The Frenchman recently left his role at Sky Sports to pursue opportunities in coaching

Thierry Henry could be set for his first job in management after reportedly coming to a verbal agreement with Aston Villa to become the Championship club's new manager. The ex-Arsenal striker has been bitten by the management bug since becoming Belgium assistant manager under Roberto Martinez, with whom he guided the Red Devils to third at the recent World Cup in Russia. This led the 40-year-old to leave a lucrative contract at Sky Sports in order to pursue further opportunities in coaching. According to a report in the Daily Star, Henry has agreed to become the new manager of the Villains, replacing Steve Bruce, who is set to meet with the club's owners today. While details such as length of contract, salary and budget are yet to be agreed, it is believed that Henry has held talks with Villa's majority shareholders Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Villa were relegated from the Premier League in the 2015/16 season, and were perilously close to a top flight return last May, before losing 1-0 to Fulham in the Championship play-off final. That failure to return shed light on serious financial difficulties under owner Tony Xia, leading to renewed investment from Sawiris and Edens' company NSWE. Should he take the job, Henry would be one of a number of last season's English television pundits to embark into management this year, after Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard joined Rangers and Derby County respectively.