ASSE manager Christophe Galtier in tenuous link to Aston Villa

An intriguing rumor came across the Twitters today, connecting Saint-Étienne boss Christophe Galtier to the (presumably open) job at Aston Villa. It was claimed that the link came via French sport daily L'Equipe, but despite a thorough scouring of the website, it looks like the origins aren't quite so reliable.

Of course, it's not known yet whether Paul Lambert will be out of a job come the end of the season - although he himself admits his future is unknown. In 15th, with 38 points on the season, ten wins and just four of them at home, things aren't looking so good, especially when Villa played some dreadful football over the past few months.

Then there's the problem of not knowing who will own the club come the start of next season. Perhaps it's a bit too early to start speculating about who will manage, in that case?

Even if leadership remains the same, would Villa really take a chance on Galtier? ASSE are currently fourth in Ligue 1, with two games left to play. That means they could slip into Champions League qualifying, but no matter what, they're guaranteed European play. Galtier has been with Saint-Étienne since 2009, taking them to fifth last season while also winning the Coupe de France.

So yes, Galtier looks good. But remember what happened with Gérard Houllier? The Frenchman came in with lots of ideas on how to play some exciting football, but was barely given a chance. Ultimately his health problems saw him leave the club, but before that, he had plenty of time to view the bedsheets hanging round Villa Park, calling for his head.

Considering the fact that the last four seasons have seen Villa fighting against the drop, it's highly unlikely that whoever is brought in to manage will be a big risk, a huge deviation from the norm in English football - even if that's exactly what Aston Villa need right now. It'd be nice if these rumors were coming from a reliable source, but it simply doesn't look likely that Galtier is heading for Villa Park.