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David Moyes and Championship managers had been linked with the Southampton job this week.
Former West Ham and Manchester United manager David Moyes is set to be beaten to the vacancy at Southampton this week, despite emerging as an early favourite to replace Russell Martin at St Mary's Stadium.
Martin was sacked after a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday left the Saints nine points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League. The search for a new manager started immediately and it seems as if Southampton have found their man.
It's not Moyes, who has been away from the dugout since leaving West Ham this summer, nor is it West Brom man Carlos Corberan and Sheffield Wednesday boss Dany Rohl. On Thursday, LondonWorld reported that those three coaches were the most likely candidates.
Instead, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports today that Southampton have struck an agreement with Ivan Juric to come in and take over from Martin. The 49-year-old recently had a short stint in charge of Italian Serie A giants Roma but lasted less than two months in that post.
Ivan Juric is expected to become Southampton's new head coachIvan Juric is expected to become Southampton's new head coach
Ivan Juric is expected to become Southampton's new head coach
Taking to social media platform X, Romano wrote: “Southampton have agreed deal to appoint Ivan Jurić as new head coach to replace Russell Martin. Contract set to be signed today.
“Verbal agreement in place on contract terms; formally working on exit terms from AS Roma. Ivan Jurić said yes to Saints FC, Röhl won’t join.”
Juric had taken over from club legend Daniele De Rossi but struggled to find any form in that short time with Roma, leaving with the club four points above the drop zone. Before that, Juric spent three years at Torino and kept the club away from relegation despite one of the division's meagre budgets.
Moyes' next steps in football remain to be seen. The veteran continues to be linked with each new Premier League vacancy, having suggested he would be open to a return to work at 61 years old.
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David Moyes open to managerial return
Last month, he told the Stick to Football podcast: “I’m starting to think about it. For three months I’ve been great, because I wanted the time off. It doesn’t sound a lot to say you’ve had 60 games last year, but when you’re the manager and you’re coming back on a Thursday night from Belgium or France, you’re saying, ‘My goodness, I’ve got to get the team prepared – I’ve got to get all the work done’. There might be debriefs, then you’re trying to get them ready for a Premier League game. I found that amount of workload to be really difficult in the last three years, but it was a pleasure to be in that situation."
When leaving West Ham, Moyes admitted he was keen to remain in management. He said: "There are a lot of things in football that can be done a lot better. But look, I'm really comfortable with the situation. I'm comfortable with the board, so at the moment, everything's fine. It's football. It's the right decision for both parties, for myself and the club and we'll go our separate ways having had a really good four-and-a-half years. Do I want to stay in management? 'Yes' would be the answer to that."
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