Three likely replacements for Ronald Koeman at Southampton

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After looking likely to extend his Southampton contract, manager Ronald Koeman is now close to signing for Everton. The ambitious Toffees, bankrolled by new investor Farhad Moshiri, were keen to appoint the Dutchman after the underachievement under Roberto Martinez, and the Saudi Arabian seems to have got his man after promises of a large transfer budget and a contract that would make him the sixth best paid manager in the world.

Yet it would be very foolish to completely write off the Saints despite losing their esteemed manager. As Koeman himself would know, the club is very good at finding replacements for players and managers, as the Barcelona legend stepped into the hotseat when Mauricio Pochettino moved to Tottenham. Here are three potential options for the Southampton job.

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Andre Villas-Boas – Unattached

Despite never playing as a professional, it is fair to say that Andre Villas-Boas is an experienced manager, even though he has not reached the age of 40 yet. The 38-year-old wowed Sir Bobby Robson through his incredible analysis of why a player should have been picked whilst Robson was in charge of AVB’s hometown club, FC Porto.

Suitably impressed by the detail shown in the report by the then-16 year old, Villas-Boas managed to complete all his coaching badges by his 21st birthday. Part of Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff at Porto, Chelsea and Internazionale, the young prospect took the brave decision to step into his first management role at Academica.

Despite Os Estudiantes being bottom of the league on his arrival, Villas-Boas guided the club to safety and 11th place. His success continued at Porto, where he won the quadruple in his only season and remained unbeaten in the league. He was then headhunted for the Chelsea job, only to be sacked after just nine months.

After a somewhat underappreciated time at Tottenham, Villas-Boas guided Zenit St Petersburg to a Premier League title. His time in Russia has only just ended, and would bring an aesthetically pleasing style of football to St Mary’s should he be named as manager.