Ivan Juric to Southampton: Former Roma boss agrees deal to replace Russell Martin as head coach
Ivan Juric agrees deal to become Southampton's new head coach; he will replace Russell Martin with club bottom of the Premier League
Friday 20 December 2024 14:56, UK
Ivan Juric has agreed an 18-month deal to become Southampton's new head coach.
The deal includes a break option which will be reviewed this summer. Should Southampton avoid relegation this season, Juric's contract can be extended by a further two years.
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Juric is set to take over at Southampton after being sacked by Roma last month, where he lasted less than two months.
Southampton have been a long-time admirer of the Croatian, with the 49-year-old having previously been on Saints' list to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl when the Austrian was sacked two years ago.
Saints have also sounded out West Brom boss Carlos Corberan and former Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand, while Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl had also been linked with the job.
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Interim boss Rusk assuming he will take Fulham game
Speaking at Friday's press conference ahead of a trip to Fulham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, interim boss Simon Rusk said he had not been made aware of an impending appointment, and was still anticipating taking the side at Craven Cottage.
"I've prepared the team, so the sensible thing for me is to wait for a little bit of communication but as it stands, I'm preparing for Sunday's game," he said.
"We've had the players in this morning and trained as normal. I don't know much about the manager situation but I'm sure I'll get some communication later today."
Who is Ivan Juric?
The Croatian manager started his coaching career working under Gian Piero Gasperini - who is currently the revolutionary head coach at Atalanta.
Juric worked in Gasperini's coaching staff at Inter Milan and Palermo, before taking his first job at Serie C side Mantova in the 2014-15 campaign.
The following season, he took a Serie B job at Crotone and got them promoted to Serie A for the first time in the club's history that term. He did not take them into the Italian top-flight though, as he was offered to replace Gasperini at Genoa, which he accepted.
Juric then had three separate spells at Genoa in the space of two years - being sacked by the club three times between February 2017 and December 2018.
He finally found stability at Hellas Verona in 2019, who had just been promoted to Serie A. With one of the smallest budgets in the league, he kept them in the top flight for two straight seasons - before taking the Torino job.
The Croatian left Torino at the end of last season after three seasons in Serie A and took on the Roma job in September of this year after The Friedkin Group sacked fan favourite Daniele de Rossi. Juric, however, did not even last two months as he was sacked with the Giallorossi four points above the relegation zone.
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury's huge heavyweight rematch will be live on Saturday December 21 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Usyk v Fury 2 now!
