Torino are confident of retaining Ivan Juric for at least another season as Premier League strugglers Southampton eye the Serie A coach, sporting director Davide Vagnati says.
Ruben Selles may possess a mere fraction of the experience of Ralph Hasenhuttl or Nathan Jones. But, after taking five points off Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the caretaker boss is arguably getting more out of a limited Saints squad than either of his predecessors.
Southampton are still bottom of the table but just four points off 12th; Selles ensuring that a side which looked doomed under Jones continues to keep it’s head narrowly above water.
But, like Javi Gracia at Leeds United and Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace, the short-term nature of Selles’ contract means Southampton may once again be scouring the market for a new head coach when a gruelling campaign finally comes to a merciful end.
Could Torino boss Ivan Juric become Southampton’s new manager?
Juric, the Daily Mail say, has a number of long-term admirers at the South Coast side. The 47-year-old Croatian has just over 12 months left on his contract. But Vagnati all-but confirms that Torino plan to offer Juric a new deal.
“Tackling a topic of this type, right now, is important because we all have to plan our future. On the other hand, I notice a lot of excessive alarmism. The coach has another year on his contract,” the Granata director tells Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We are calm. It will be important to finish these two months well, as the coach always says. At the same time, it will be just as important to plan the future well. As president (Urbano) Cairo says, the future must be together with Mr. Juric.”
One-time Sevilla midfielder Juric, who spent time as Gian Piero Gasperini’s assistant at Inter Milan, had Hellas Verona punching well above their weight despite operating on one of the smallest budgets in Serie A. His Torino side, meanwhile, are now well-placed to secure a top-half finish, playing the kind of intense, up-and-at-’em high-pressing football reminiscent of Southampton’s better days under Hasenhuttl, Ronald Koeman or Mauricio Pochettino.
“For me, someone who coaches Torino – taking them from the relegation zone and bringing them close to the Europe – can coach anywhere,” says former Serie A chief Beppe Ursino, who knows Juric from his time at Crotone.
“Juric is an exceptional person who cares about the team, the club and its players. Then, on the field, they have to do what he says.”
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