New Southampton FC manager update hands Sheffield Wednesday big Danny Rohl boost | OneFootball

The Owls boss is a target for the Saints who are looking for a new manager.

Southampton sacking Ivan Juric will have had Sheffield Wednesday and their supporters ever since it was confirmed on Monday.

The Saints have held a long-standing interest in the Wednesday boss, Danny Rohl, who previously worked at St Mary's as an assistant under Ralph Hassenhuttl. They originally looked at him as an option to replace Russell Martin back in December, before ultimately pursuing the Croatian avenue; a decision which doesn't look great in hindsight.

But now they are back in the market for a manager, and Rohl has been named as their preferred candidate by The Sun. The report also stated that former Hull City gaffer Liam Rosenior is liked by Southampton, but that taking him away from his current club, RC Strasbourg, would be an ambitious move to make.

Part of the reason why they decided not to go for Rohl in the first place was due to the compensation that they would've had to pay Wednesday in order to bring him in, which was said to be £4 million. However, that fee is for Premier League clubs, and now that the Saints have been relegated back to the second tier, they will be able to get Rohl for a cheaper price, as long as they wait until they are officially back in the Championship.

All this, combined with the currently turbulent situation at Hillsborough with regard to players not being paid their wages on time, made it seem like everything was slotting into place for the 35-year-old to return to the south coast. But the latest update suggests that Southampton's eggs aren't all in the German's basket.

New target emerges in Southampton manager search

The article from The Sun linking Rohl and Rosenior to the vacant position at St Mary's also stated that there was a third unknown candidate who was also under consideration. Today (Thursday, 10th April), talkSPORT's Alex Crook has stated that RC Lens boss Will Still has emerged as an option for Southampton to look at.

The Belgian-born coach has managed in France since October 2022 when he took over at Stade de Reims. He then left them in May 2024 before agreeing to become Lens' new head coach; they are ninth in Ligue 1 at the time of writing, five points off the European spots.

While the prospect of Still coming to Southampton may be an intriguing one for Saints supporters, and a positive sign for those up in Sheffield, there is no guarantee that the 32-year-old will succeed Juric. Would he want to go from managing in the Europa Conference League to the Championship? Would Southampton properly pursue him given his lack of experience in England, a requirement that they are supposedly keen on their next boss having, as per The Sun?

Will Still, Southampton links provide some reprieve for Wednesday

From the outside, looking in, it does feel like Rohl's future will be elsewhere.

He was asked about his future, following the reports linking him to Southampton, after his side's 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers, to which he said his focus was on the Owls and that the time to discuss what was next for him was after the conclusion of this season.

The current antics at Hillsborough won't make it easier for a manager with his level of ambition to stick around, but these new links will still (pardon the pun) give Wednesday and their supporters some extra hope that Rohl won't be leaving as soon as possible.