Southampton plan to tie up Russell Martin as their new manager in the next two days amid reports Pep Guardiola's No.2 at Manchester City turned down the chance to move to the south coast.
Guardiola's assistant Enzo Maresca had previously been sounded out for the Southampton role, but wants to remain with the newly-crowned Premier League champions, according to reports.
Sky Sports say Martin has 'verbally agreed' to leave Swansea for Southampton and the deal could be rubber-stamped within 24 hours.
He will be tasked with guiding Southampton back out of the Championship at the first attempt.
READ MORE: Cardiff City fan Nathan Jones tipped to succeed Southampton-bound Russell Martin with Swans
Martin remains contracted to swansea-city-fc>Swansea City, but talks appear to be in the final throes as Southampton look to wrap up a compensation package quickly over the next 48 hours.
The situation leaves the Swans in limbo, expecting the loss of their manager and with the futures of a number of key players in question. Already highly-rated defender Ryan Manning is leaving, while speculation mounts over prize asset Joel Piroe and their skipper Matty Grimes.
Martin was due to fly to the United States on Thursday to discuss Swansea's plans, budgets and his own future with the club's owners, but remained in Wales amid mounting talk of the Southampton interest.
He will take over at Southampton from Ruben Selles, who was given the job after the doomed spell under Nathan Jones.
In an ironic twist, Cardiff City fan Jones is being linked with replacing Martin at Swansea. However, he is also believed to be on the Bluebirds' shortlist for a new manager after they parted company with Sabri Lamouchi.
It is reported Maresca had been shortlisted by Southampton earlier in the season when they sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl as boss and they were keen again. However, the Italian wants to stay with Guardiola, having played a key role himself in Man City's charge for the treble this season. They have already landed the league title and are in the finals of the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
He will look to continue that work next season, freeing the path for Martin to move to Southampton.
Martin signed a three-year contract with Swansea when he succeeded Steve Cooper as boss in the summer of 2021
The Swans had finished just 90 minutes away from the Premier League under Cooper, losing the Wembley play-off final to Brentford. Martin led them to a 15th-placed finished in his first season and 10th in the campaign just finished. A rousing finale, which incorporated a nine match unbeaten run at the end, saw Martin's men break into the top 10.
Despite those mid-table finishes, the style of play adopted by Martin and the work he did remoulding Swansea's squad has been enough for Southampton to swoop.
An announcement is expected at the start of the week.
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