Sheffield Wednesday: Who is Danny Rohl? The man linked with Southampton FC vacancy | OneFootball

We looked at the career of Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl amid speculation linking him with the Southampton job.

Southampton are on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Russell Martin, and Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is believed to be among the candidates to replace him at St Mary's.

Martin led Southampton to promotion from the Championship via the play-offs last season in his first year in charge, but the 39-year-old found life much tougher in the Premier League, with many blaming his refusal to adapt his style of play for his side's struggles.

Just hours after the 5-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday night, the Saints announced that they had made the "difficult decision" to part company with Martin, bringing his almost 13-month spell on the South Coast to an end.

Under-21s manager Simon Rusk will take charge of Southampton for their EFL Cup game against Liverpool on Wednesday night, but with the club sitting bottom of the table, nine points from safety, they will likely be keen to make a swift appointment.

Shortly after Martin's dismissal was confirmed, it was claimed that Rohl is one of the names being considered by the Saints hierarchy, and as speculation continues to gather pace about a potential return to St Mary's, we looked at the 35-year-old's career so far.

Rohl spent time with FSV Zwickau, FC Sachsen Leipzig II and FC Eilenburg in the German lower leagues in the early stages of his playing career, but he was forced to retire as a teenager due to a knee injury.

Still determined to pursue a career in football, Rohl went on to study sports science, and he later became a video analyst at RB Leipzig before joining the club's coaching staff.

Rohl worked with Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhuttl during his time at Leipzig, and after the latter was named Southampton manager in December 2018, he brought Rohl with him as his assistant.

The Saints were in the Premier League relegation zone when Hasenhuttl took charge, but he led them to a 16th-placed finish in the 2018-19 season, and Rohl played an important part in the club's top flight survival.

Rohl departed St Mary's in the summer of 2019 to join the coaching staff at Bayern Munich, and during his two years as assistant to Hansi Flick, he helped the German giants win seven trophies, including two Bundesliga titles, the Champions League, the DFB-Pokal, the DFL-Supercup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Flick took Rohl with him when he exited Bayern to become the new manager of the German national team in the summer of 2021, but it proved to be an unsuccessful spell that included a humiliating group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Rohl left his post with Germany after Flick was sacked in September 2023, but he was not out of work for long as he was handed his first senior managerial role at Sheffield Wednesday less than a month later, and he became the youngest manager in the EFL at just 34 years of age.

The Owls were bottom of the Championship table with just three points to their name when Rohl arrived after a dismal start to the season under his predecessor Xisco Munoz, but after a remarkable turnaround, he managed to guide the club to safety as they recorded a 20th-placed finish.

Despite talk that he was attracting interest from elsewhere, Rohl signed a new three-year contract at Hillsborough in May, and Wednesday have continued their progress this season, with the club currently sitting ninth in the table, just five points from the play-off places.

Assessing Danny Rohl's credentials for the Southampton job

Of course, appointing a manager with no Premier League experience would be a gamble for Southampton in their current predicament, but there are a number of reasons why Rohl could fit the bill.

Wednesday were in a similarly desperate position in the table last season when Rohl took over - albeit in a lower division - and he managed to secure their Championship status, so his record of masterminding a great escape will no doubt appeal to the Saints board.

Even if Southampton were to suffer relegation under Rohl this season, he has proven over the past 14 months that he is an excellent manager at second tier level, so he would have a strong chance of leading them to an immediate return to the Premier League.

Rohl has shown plenty of potential during his time with the Owls, but there is still room for him to develop, and his side have one of the worst defensive records in the Championship this season, which may be a concern for the Saints given that one of the main priorities for the new manager will be to tighten them up at the back.

The German would certainly be a gamble for Southampton, and with the compensation fee required to get him out of Wednesday said to be a stumbling block, they are believed to be considering alternatives such as former Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand and West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan.