Southampton FC eye move for 32-year-old to replace Juric - He was heavily linked with Sunderland last summer | OneFootball

An update on the managerial search at recently-relegated Southampton has emerged

Southampton are running the rule over potential successors for Ivan Juric following the Serbian manager's departure almost immediately after relegation back to the Championship was officially confirmed by Sunday afternoon's 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Saints made a miserable attempt to stay in the Premier League and appeared destined for relegation from the very beginning of the campaign, just months after returning to the promised land at the first time of asking by defeating Leeds United in last season's Championship play-off final.

Led into the top-flight by Russell Martin, the ex-Swansea City head coach was unable to get Southampton going and received his marching orders in December, though successor Juric did not fare any better.

The now-departed Juric lost 12 of his 14 games in charge of Southampton, who will be led by interim boss Simon Rusk until the end of the season.

Southampton are set to go down as one of the worst Premier League teams in history and could break Derby County's historic tally of just 11 points.

The Saints have accumulated 10, and just two league victories, from 31 matches, and their relegation with seven matches to spare was the swiftest in Premier League history.

Southampton FC eyeing Will Still as potential Ivan Juric replacement

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl - formerly assistant to Ralph Hassenhuttl on the south coast - and ex-Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior, currently of Strasbourg, have both been linked to the vacancy, with Southampton's top-brass reportedly forming a three-man shortlist including the pair.

The third manager, however, could now seemingly be Will Still.

According to a recent X update from talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, Still is emerging as a "potential option" for the Saints. It's not clear just how advanced Southampton's interest is, but he now appears to be a name worth monitoring in the coming weeks.

The former Beerschot and Reims boss took over Ligue 1 side Lens last June. Lens, who finished as runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022/23 term and secured a place in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers last time out under Franck Haise, are currently ninth in the French top-flight, but have lost a host of prized assets in recent times including Elye Wahi, Lois Openda and Abdukodir Khusanov.

32-year-old Still, however, has built up a promising reputation over in France and could be poised to try his hand in English football this summer.

Southampton target Will Still was linked with Sunderland AFC last year

Still, who once said he would "love to manage in the Premier League", has previously been touted for Championship jobs and came close to becoming Sunderland manager last year.

According to reports, Still had gone as far as looking into properties in the North East after holding talks with the Black Cats, but the move failed to come to fruition.

It's said that Still had concerns over investment and the make-up of staff, so Southampton will surely need to tick these boxes in order to convince the highly-rated boss to trade Lens for St Mary's.

Southampton could, however, amplify Sunderland's potential regret by appointing Still. The Black Cats could indeed be a 25/26 promotion rival, should their own bid at returning to the Premier League this season fall short.