Southampton have confirmed the appointment of Ivan Juric as their new manager.
The Athletic reported on Friday that the Premier League club had agreed a deal with Juric and the Croatian has now signed a one-and-a-half-year deal.
“I’m very pleased. I think it’s a really big challenge but I’m very optimistic because I saw a team that can do better,” said Juric.
“It’s important to immediately be connected with the fans. I want an aggressive team and I think that fans of Southampton will like that.”
Juric is viewed by Southampton as a strong character who is good at making teams hard to beat through physical intensity and a solid defensive structure, though does have good ideas in possession too. After winning only once in their opening 16 league games, the club felt the main job now is for the team to be more intense and solid at the back.
Southampton had been in talks with former assistant coach Danny Rohl, now in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, over replacing Russell Martin but the German’s compensation proved to be a stumbling block. Wednesday were unwilling to let Rohl go cheaply given their good start to the season.
Juric, though, was available without any compensation after being sacked by Roma earlier this season. He only spent two months with the Serie A side, having replaced Daniele De Rossi as head coach in September.
Juric previously spent three seasons in charge of Torino and had been Southampton’s first choice to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl in November 2022 only for compensation with the Turin club to prove problematic. Southampton then appointed Nathan Jones instead.
Southampton are bottom of the Premier League with only five points from their opening 16 matches. Martin, 38, was sacked following last Sunday’s 5-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. He had previously guided Southampton to promotion last term.
(Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)
