Why Southampton FC avoided Danny Rohl move revealed as Will Still appointment edges closer | OneFootball

The Saints have decided to not try and get the Sheffield Wednesday boss.

Southampton felt that the compensation required to get Danny Rohl out of his Sheffield Wednesday contract, even for a Championship club, was too expensive as they push to appoint Will Still.

No matter how many hints and digs Rohl has dropped and may continue to, unless he walks away from the two years he has remaining on his contract, becoming the manager of a new club is not going to be easy for him.

It certainly appears that this is the direction he wants to move in. He left questions about his future relatively unanswered during the season, and since its close he has spoken openly about his desire to manage in other leagues.

This is not the first time that Rohl has been looked at by other clubs since becoming Wednesday's boss. He was being considered as a replacement option for Russell Martin after the Saints, who the German was previously an assistant for, sacked him in December.

Rohl isn't short of options, according to The Athletic, and won't be rushed over a decision on his future. RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg have also been linked with the German, but the same issue around compensation could prevent them from making a move for the 36-year-old.

Danny Rohl compensation was too costly for Southampton

According to the BBC, Southampton have decided against a move for Rohl because of the money they would have to pay the Owls in order to move him from Hillsborough and back to St Mary's.

Previous reports suggested that the compensation Wednesday would be owed should Rohl leave before the end of his deal, which runs until the summer of 2027, was higher for Premier League clubs than it was for teams in the Championship, so the likes of Southampton may wait until their official relegation to try and sign the German up. But even the level of money they'd have to pay once they dropped a division is reported to be too much for them.

Southampton are nearing the completion of appointing Still as their next boss. Sky Sports have stated that a verbal agreement between the two parties is in place and that they hope to have the 32-year-old former RC Lens boss in attendance for their final home game of the season against Arsenal on Sunday.

They will have to pay some compensation to Lens, but only for Still's coaching staff and not for him, because he chose to walk away from the remaining couple of years on his deal with the French side in order to return to the United Kingdom.

Sheffield Wednesday hold all the cards against Danny Rohl

Ultimately, Rohl has caused his own problem in this situation. Signing a new deal with the Owls last summer has meant that now he doesn't have the freedom or any real leverage to take the steps that he seemingly wants to.

When he signed that new contract, the thought behind it from his side was surely that he felt he could take Wednesday to a new level, a level that he wanted to get to himself. But after his players were paid their March wages late and the club came a day away from a three-window transfer ban, that belief in carrying the Owls to new heights appears to have gone from Rohl.

He said as much in an interview with RBLive. "I’m someone who always wants to develop the club further," Rohl said. "And to do that, you have to weigh up how far that’s still possible or whether the maximum has perhaps already been reached under the current conditions."

Southampton weren't necessarily his first-choice, as per The Athletic, but now that option is almost certainly off his board.

The trouble for him is that he can't officially burn the Wednesday bridge without quitting, and the club have no reason to allow a true prospect of a manager to leave without proper compensation, so for now he is stuck.