According to the latest reports, Jesse Marsch, who was relieved of his duties at Leeds roughly a week ago, is set for a shocking return to the Premier League.
The well-known American coach succeeded the iconic Marcelo Bielsa last season amid the club's relegation battle. The 49-year-old, who rose to prominence in the European game during his time with the Red Bull group, saved the Whites from the drop but was unable to turn their fortunes around this season.
The West Yorkshire side went on a seven-game winless run in the Premier League in the build-up to Marsch's sacking, with the head coach leaving the beloved club 17th in the table.
So which side will Jesse take over in the coming days? That team is none other than Southampton, another managerless club battling relegation this season.
This comes after the sacking of Nathan Jones, the man the Saints hired to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl back in November, with this decision coming on Sunday. The Welsh tactician was only in charge at St. Mary's Stadium for 94 days and oversaw only 14 games in total, eight of which came in the Premier League. Out of that eight, he lost seven.
As revealed by the Athletic, Southampton want a new manager in time for their trip to Chelsea on February 18 and are now set to appoint Marsch. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard were two other candidates for the role but the club opted for the American after staging positive contract talks on Monday.
Popular British radio station talkSPORT claim that Jesse has verbally agreed to join Southampton, which should make for an interesting appointment. Ralph Hasenhuttl, the man who was in charge at the start of the season, also has ties to the Red Bull group, having managed RB Leipzig prior to his arrival in England. This means that Marsch should be able to implement his style of play quickly, which is essential if the Saints are to survive this season.
BREAKING: Jesse Marsch has verbally accepted to become Southampton boss.
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 14, 2023
- talkSPORT sources understand
Listen https://t.co/VJgUHnqdM1 pic.twitter.com/GiIjtvag4X
Southampton are currently bottom of the league with only 15 points, three adrift of safety, which means not all hope is lost. However, with only one win from their last 11 league games, the club will need to turn things around immediately.