Beale is poised to retake the role he previously left in early 2020, after turning down the chance to become assistant boss at Reading.
The 46-year-old had been widely expected to join the League One Royals as No.2 to Noel Hunt when he left the Baggies after four years working at the club’s academy as boss of the under-21s.
But he has decided instead to return to Villa and take the role of U18s boss, following Jimmy Shan’s promotion to take charge of the U21s at Bodymoor Heath.
It was Shan, ironically, who persuaded Beale to leave Villa in February 2020 less than a year after he had been appointed as U18s head coach to become his assistant at Solihull Moors.
The pair were axed 13 months later, with Beale heading to the Baggies the following summer and Shan becoming assistant manager at Rochdale.
They are now reunited on the academy staff at Villa, where Shan has left his colleague a tough act to follow with the U18s after their treble-winning success last season.
Under the former Albion caretaker boss’ guidance, the team won the Premier League South title, the National final and most memorably of all the FA Youth Cup for the fifth time in the club’s history.
Beale, who worked at Birmingham City’s academy for 16 years before moving to Villa in 2019, will now be tasked with helping to bring through the next generation.
In addition to his work in academy football, Beale also had a three-match stint in interim charge of Albion following Steve Bruce’s sacking in 2022.
He also took charge of Blues’ first-team for two Championship matches when Lee Clark was axed in 2014. His appointment at Villa is due to be confirmed in the coming weeks.