Southampton’s managerial plan for next season could be a disaster for one Championship club

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After a disappointing season in the Premier League under both Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, Southampton could be eyeing a move for a new manager imminently.

The Saints beat Leeds United at Wembley in the play-off final to secure their place in the top-flight, but they are likely to end the season with one of the lowest points totals in Premier League history.

After taking just nine points from 27 games, Southampton are projected to pick up just 13 points, with just two wins and ten defeats in Juric’s 12 games in charge thus far in all competitions.

Southampton now look destined to return to the Championship at the end of the season, and it seems the board already have a plan in place to put them in good shape for the 2025/26 campaign.

• READ MORE: How much Championship title is worth as Leeds United and Sheffield United chase Premier League prize fund

Southampton eye move for Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl has done an excellent job so far at Hillsborough, but that was always likely to attract interest from clubs higher up the footballing ladder.

According to a report from journalist Jack Rosser via The Sun, the latest is that Southampton remain interested in the Sheffield Wednesday boss. Not only that, but Rohl was a target for the Saints to replace Russell Martin previously.

Negotiations broke down over the German coach’s reported £4 million compensation fee that would’ve been owed to the Owls. However, they may reignite their interest and sack Ivan Juric ahead of a near-certain return to the Championship next season.

It has previously been reported by The Sheffield Star that suggestions are that a compensation fee will be required to pry the 35-year-old away, is set somewhere in the close region of an “eye-watering £5 million”.

They also outline that a fee of close to double that will be required to “take his close-knit coaching staff along with him”. Rohl has also worked as an assistant manager with the Saints under Ralph Hasenhuttl between December 2018 and August 2019.

Sheffield Wednesday have continuously flirted with the play-offs this season and find themselves in a promising position in the second tier table under Rohl, currently only a handful of points off a spot in the top six with 11 Championship games remaining as we approach the final fixtures of the season.

However, defeat at home to high-flying Sunderland on Friday evening has perhaps given them too much to do, with a number of sides between themselves and the play-offs.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
8	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	35	14	8	13	55	46	9	50
9	Bristol CityBristol City	34	12	13	9	43	38	5	49
10	WatfordWatford	35	14	7	14	45	48	-3	49
11	NorwichNorwich	35	12	12	11	56	48	8	48
12	MillwallMillwall	34	11	12	11	34	34	0	45
13	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	35	12	9	14	47	56	-9	45
14	QPRQPR	35	11	11	13	41	45	-4	44
15	PrestonPreston	34	9	15	10	36	41	-5	42
16	SwanseaSwansea	34	11	7	16	37	46	-9	40
17	PortsmouthPortsmouth	35	10	9	16	43	57	-14	39

The Owls and Rohl are likely to miss out, in spite of another promising season under the tutelage of the German in the second tier, having survived relegation last season.

EFL pundit outlines Danny Rohl concerns amid Southampton interest

Ali Maxwell of the Not The Top 20 Podcast has explained his thoughts on the Rohl situation, just hours prior to the Southampton interest breaking.

He said: “I think, ultimately now with Wednesday — and I don’t want to be all soon and gloom — but for me, given they are now very unlikely to make the play-offs, my attention turns to what happens this summer and next season.

“Particularly, will there be any interest in Danny Rohl? From the English pyramid, or higher up the English pyramid, or perhaps from his native Germany?

“How much appetite does he have to stay? Given that his owner is not always the easiest to work with. Given that the squad, in order to be turned around fully, has a lot of work that needs to be done.

“There’s not a huge amount of options to raise funds through player sales. And I don’t always get the feeling that he’s thrilled with how recruitment has happened at Sheffield Wednesday anyway.

“So I’m a little bit nervous. It’s really early to be saying this but I’m a little bit nervous for Wednesday.”

The quality of the Wednesday squad has been questioned, with issues such as a lack of a proven goalscorer perhaps holding Rohl back from breaking out of midtable.

• READ MORE: Who will win the Championship Golden Boot race?

Danny Rohl’s importance to Sheffield Wednesday is undermined by Dejphon Chansiri

Rohl is an extremely exciting manager, who made Wednesday an impressive pressing side out of possession last season, with a fairly old group of players no less.

This season, they appear to be a more dynamic team in attack, but he is operating with one arm tied behind his back in many ways, with the lack of investment from controversial Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri.

That said, such a figure of £4-5m for a manager — even one as talented as Rohl — is likely to put off most clubs from acquiring his services, especially from Championship sides without parachute payments, who seldom pay such amounts for players, let alone managers.

Southampton are likely to be able to afford that, though, and they would almost certainly interest someone like Rohl, given his previous spell with the club. The 35-year-old would have more freedom in terms of operating in the market, and a bigger budget to spend as well than whatever Chansiri is able to offer him.

The timing couldn’t be worse, with Sheffield Wednesday entering a crucial run of fixtures as they attempt to keep their play-off ambitions alive, even if the chances of making the top six are now slim.