Southampton Football Club are making plans to dismiss Ivan Juric from his managerial position at the conclusion of this season, with Danny Rohl identified as their primary target to take over.
The Saints are enduring what could be one of their worst seasons in Premier League history, having only managed to win a single match since Juric took over from Russell Martin in December.
Juric initially signed an 18-month contract at the end of last year, but it is anticipated that he will not remain in charge as they head into the Championship next season.
The team currently sits with only nine points and requires just two more points from their remaining 11 fixtures to equal Derby County’s record low of 11 points in a Premier League season.
Rohl, the current Sheffield Wednesday boss, previously worked at St. Mary’s. He was considered as a potential replacement after Martin’s departure, but discussions regarding compensation stalled.
While Rohl’s release clause could be around £4 million for a Premier League club, Southampton would likely pay less as a Championship team.
Rohl also has a working history with Southampton’s new technical director, Johannes Spors, from their time together at RB Leipzig in Germany.
It was never expected that Juric would keep Southampton in the Premier League after taking over when they were already nine points away from safety.
However, neither the players nor the fans have embraced the former Roma manager’s methods, and Southampton has experienced a series of heavy defeats under his leadership.
Southampton’s recent results include a 5-0 defeat to Brentford and consecutive 4-0 losses to Brighton and Chelsea in their most recent two games.
The Saints are currently eight points behind Leicester and Ipswich and a significant 13 points adrift of fourth-from-bottom Wolves.
In other news, Aston Villa are reportedly interested in making a summer approach for Tyler Dibling, one of Southampton’s standout young players.
The 19-year-old midfielder was previously linked with several major clubs in January, including Tottenham, Newcastle, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig.
Marcus Bellamy