Ivan Juric to Southampton: Former Roma boss agrees deal to replace Russell Martin as head coach

20 December 2024, 08:45 | Updated: 20 December 2024, 11:28

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.

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.

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