Southampton have held discussions with Paulo Sousa about taking over from embattled manager Mark Hughes, according to The Times.
The newspaper report that the former Leicester City and QPR boss has become the club’s top candidate to replace Hughes if they decide to sack the Welshman in the coming weeks.
The Times claim that Sousa was in attendance during the Saints’ 3-2 loss to Fulham in the Premier League at the weekend, but is yet to commit to taking over due to Hughes still being in the job.
It is said that Hughes likely has one match to turn things around, with the Saints facing Manchester United this weekend.
OPINION
This is an interesting development at Southampton, with Sousa most certainly not having been among the names put forward in the press to take over from Hughes should he be sacked. The Portuguese manager has worked in England before, but his spells at both QPR and Leicester were highly unsuccessful. Sousa left QPR after less than a season after a row involving the leaking of sensitive information, while he lasted just three months at Leicester in 2010. Those spells do not inspire much confidence for Southampton fans if the owners do decide to plump with Sousa in the event of Hughes being sacked, although they do not necessarily mean much. Firstly, Hughes has this weekend to try and save his job, and what a story it would be if the Saints manage to get a positive result against United. Jose Mourinho’s men are reeling from some seriously poor results this season, and Southampton could well add to their misery at St. Mary’s on Saturday.