Sky Sports: Southampton Close to Appointing ‘Brightest Young Manager in Europe’
Southampton are thought to be closing in on a move for highly-hyped young manager Will Still to lead their charge back to the Premier League, after two impressive seasons in Ligue 1 for the Belgian-English boss. Saints have had a disastrous top-flight campaign, racking up just 12 points from 37 games, and a new manager will be needed to take them back to the big time after Ivan Juric was relieved of his duties.
Russell Martin was sacked after 16 games, having won just one game and drawn two, with his departure coming just before Christmas after a 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur – and Juric came in as his replacement, though he didn’t fare much better with the same number of points in just one less game.
Report: Southampton ‘Closing in’ on Will Still Appointment
The Saints have been in the market for a new boss for some months
That has left Saints scrambling for a new boss, and although many have been linked, including Sheffield Wednesday gaffer Danny Rohl, Sky Sports News have claimed that their favoured choice is Still.
| Will Still’s managerial statistics – record by club | ||
|---|---|---|
| Club | Games managed | Wins-Draws-Losses |
| Lierse | 9 | 7-1-1 |
| Beerschot | 15 | 6-2-7 |
| Reims | 65 | 25-19-21 |
| Lens | 38 | 17-8-13 |
And now they are closing in on a move for the former Reims boss, with a verbal agreement being reached. They said, live on air on Tuesday evening:
“News just reaching us, and Southampton are closing in on Will Still as their new head coach.
“Sky Sports News understands that a verbal agreement has been reached with the 32-year-old. The process is now believed to at the stage of agreeing on his backroom staff, after Still announced last week that he was leaving Lens.
“All being well, Southampton are hopeful this deal can be in place by the end of the week, and we understand for Southampton’s final Premier League game of the season against Arsenal on Sunday.
“Sky Sports reported on Monday that Still, and Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl, were in the final running. Southampton have been keen to get someone in place this week, and Rohl is understood to have been staying patient regarding his future.”
Still has won 42 of his 103 games in charge of both Reims and Lens, losing 34 and drawing the remaining 27 – with his above-average win percentage seeing him named by French football expert, Julien Laurens, as the ‘brightest young manager in Europe’.
