Southampton manager target urged to snub Saints and wait for West Ham to sack Lopetegui instead
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While Wolves wasted no time swapping Gary O’Neil for Vitor Pereira, fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton have a long way to go in pursuit of a new manager of their own.
Only a few hours after O’Neil was put out of his misery at Molineux, Southampton confirmed that Sunday’s capitulation at home to Tottenham Hotspur would be Russell Martin’s last march in charge of The Saints.
But, as Wolves close in on Al-Shabab boss Vitor Pereira, Southampton are very much in the shortlist stage as things stand.
TBR understands that Southampton like former Roma boss Ivan Juric. Not for the first time, a man who celebrated five successive top-half Serie A finishes with Hellas Verona and Torino has appeared on The Saints’ radar.
There are reportedly talks with Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rolh, while The Saints could turn to West Brom’s Carlos Corberan too.
Over in his native Denmark, meanwhile, the interest being showed in Kasper Hjulmand – national team boss until last summer – has sparked plenty of discussion.
Kasper Hjulmand urged to snub Southampton and wait for West Ham
How would Hjulmand benefit, some are wondering, from taking over a club already nine points adrift of survival and staring relegation in the face a week before Christmas day arrives?
Surely, a man who guided Denmark to within a Harry Kane strike of the European Championship final in 2021 could afford to wait around for a more stable job to emerge.
The West Ham one, for instance.
Julen Lopetegui has eased the pressure at the London Stadium to some extent following just two defeats in the last six games. Yet, the Spaniard’s long-term future is still in doubt.
While former Porto boss Sergio Conceicao has admirers at West Ham, director Tim Steidten is a big fan of Kasper Hjulmand.
And Allan Kuhn, a pundit for Scandinavian TV these days eight years after guiding Malmo to a Swedish league title, thinks that Hjulmand should keep Southampton at arms’ length while focusing his sights on West Ham’s progress.
“[West Ham] will be a fantastic opportunity. They have many resources and a fantastic team, not least offensively,” Kuhn argues, speaking to ViaPlay. “It will be a team where he has the opportunity to succeed.
“I don’t think [Lopetegui’s sacking] is just around the corner. But [Hjulmand] really needs to stick around if this can be a possibility.”
Former Denmark boss told to make relegation plans with Southampton
Given Southampton’s predicament, even the greatest tacticians on the planet would potentially be on a hiding to nothing attempting to pull of a ‘Great Escape’ on the South Coast.
Kuhn adds that, if Hjulmand is tempted to take over from Martin, he must first receive a guarantee from Sport Republic CEO Rasmus Ankersen that he will not be fired in the very likely event of relegation.
"[Hjulmand should] have an agreement with Rasmus Ankersen that it's okay to get relegated from the Premier League and then build it up in the Championship," Kuhn adds, having watched The Saints go 5-0 down in the first-half against Spurs.
"They are going to get relegated. I commentated on them on Sunday against Tottenham. The first-half they played there was one of the worst I've ever seen.
"So, I'm very afraid that this is a club that is 100 per cent certain to be relegated from the Premier League."
