Southampton is still without a manager and it seems as though they’ve ruled out another two candidates for the job.
ProSoccerTalk understands that former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is no longer in the running for the job after extensive talks with Saints over the past few days.
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A source with close knowledge of the situation has also confirmed to ProSoccerTalk that the speculation linking current U.S. national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann with the Southampton job is wide of the mark.
In fact, it is believed Klinsmann was never on the list of candidates to become Southampton’s next manager.
Klinsmann’s odds to become the next Saints manager were dramatically slashed from over 40-1 to 1-3 by several British bookmakers on Wednesday with money pouring in for the former German national team star.
[ MORE: Story of EURO 2016 so far ]
With many U.S. fans critical of the German coach despite leading the USMNT to the semifinal -- they were humbled 4-0 by Argentina on Tuesday -- of the Copa America Centenario in this summer, it looks as though Klinsmann is set to remain in charge of the U.S. as his current contract runs out following the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
ProSoccerTalk understands that Pellegrini has been ruled out after talks led Southampton’s hierarchy to believe that the Chilean manager was not the right fit for the team. Pellegrini led Man City to the Premier League title during the 2013-14 season but was replaced with Pep Guardiola this summer after adding just two League Cup titles alongside his one PL crown during his three years in charge at the Etihad Stadium.
After finishing sixth in the Premier League last season, Saints lost manager Ronald Koeman to Everton earlier this month and have also been linked heavily with former Nice manager Claude Puel.
For now, the wait for a new manager at St Mary’s will go on with reports in the Daily Echo in Southampton claiming they want to appoint a new boss by July 4 ahead of the start of preseason.
