Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Paul Lambert as their new manager following his departure from Norwich City.
Former Norwich manager handed Aston Villa reins
Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Paul Lambert as their new manager following his departure from Norwich City.
Lambert tendered his resignation as Canaries boss on Thursday only for the Carrow Road club to reject his request as negotiations with Villa were on-going.
It now appears that an accord has been reached to allow the highly-rated Scot to move from East Anglia to the Midlands, although Norwich have denied a compensation package has been agreed.
Lambert takes over at Villa Park following the brief and unsuccessful reign of Alex McLeish, with the former Birmingham boss sacked after just one season at the helm.
A brief statement on Villa's
official website read: "The board of Aston Villa are delighted to confirm that Paul Lambert has been appointed Villa manager."
Lambert enjoyed great success during his time with Norwich, guiding the club to successive promotions from League One to the Premier League and then establishing the Canaries in the top flight.
Compensation
It is believed Villa will have to pay around £1million in compensation to ensure Lambert becomes their fourth manager in less than two years.
Sky Sports sources understand that he has put pen to paper on a three-year contract and will bring his assistant manager Ian Culverhouse with him from Carrow Road.
Lambert will be charged by club owner Randy Lerner with the task of revitalising Villa after two seasons in the doldrums.
After three successive top-six finishes under Martin O'Neill, Villa have dropped too close to the Premier League bottom three for comfort.
Gerard Houllier replaced O'Neill but had to quit last summer on health grounds, while former Birmingham boss McLeish was never accepted by the Villa fans.
Profile
Lambert fits the profile of being a relatively young, hungry and ambitious manager after working his way through the lower leagues before transforming Norwich's fortunes.
Lerner also held talks with former Manchester United star Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but he opted to stay at Molde in Norway for family reasons, although he was not formally offered the Villa post.
Villa also spoke with advisors of Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, who rejected the chance to replace Houllier 12 months ago.
But Latics boss Dave Whelan claimed Martinez, who held talks with Liverpool, was staying put.
It is believed Lambert will be given money to spend after McLeish spent last season reducing what he described as an "astronomical" wage bill.
Lambert will also be able to use the money he generates from the sale of current Villa players.
