Aston Villa appoint Craig Shakespeare as assistant head coach

Former Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare has been appointed Aston Villa's new assistant head coach.

The 56-year-old is a long-time friend and former team-mate at Walsall of manager Dean Smith.

Shakespeare left Watford, where he was number two to Nigel Pearson, last month before the Hornets were relegated.

He will join John Terry and Richard O'Kelly, who remain assistant head coaches, in the Villa backroom staff.

Smith said: "I was keen to add some additional Premier League know-how onto my coaching team and Craig certainly has that in abundance.

"He's a vastly experienced coach who will add another dimension to our team. I've known Craig for many years since our Walsall playing days and I'm really looking forward to working with him."

Shakespeare was assistant to Claudio Ranieri when Leicester won the Premier League in 2016 before replacing the Italian as manager for 26 games, eventually leaving in October 2017.

He was also briefly assistant manager to Sam Allardyce with England.