A new report seemingly reveals the shortlist for the potential new Luton Town manager if Nathan Jones departs for Southampton.
Gary O’Neil is reportedly being lined up for a job in the Championship, with the Hatters keen on Cherries’ interim boss.
TEAMtalk suggest that the Hatters are looking at replacing Jones with O’Neil, whilst also claiming that Bournemouth will not hire the latter on a permanent basis.
Luton Town Football Club can confirm that permission has been granted to Southampton to speak to Nathan Jones about their managerial vacancy following the Hatters’ match at Stoke City.
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) November 7, 2022
Instead, they will bring in a ‘foreign’ name, with speculation on Bodø/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen, however the report does not name any target of Cherries.
Jones has been granted permission to speak with Bournemouth, with the Athletic reporting that a deal has been verbally agreed between the two clubs.
If Jones does leave Kenilworth Road for St Mary’s, Luton will have the duration of the World Cup potentially to replace the Welshman for a second time, after he previously left the Hatters with a role managing Stoke.
Ex-Aston Villa coach Neil Critchley, Cambridge United boss Mark Bonner and Jonathan Woodgate have also been shortlisted for the Luton Town manager’s job, sources have told Football Insider.
Critchley is currently out of work after departing Aston Villa along with Steven Gerrard when he was sacked in October.
The 44-year-old had surprised many when he left a Championship management post at Blackpool in June to team up with his former Liverpool colleague.
He had overseen promotion from League One in his first full season at Bloomfield Road and spent two-and-a-half years in total at the club.
Woodgate returned to football last month as part of Michael Carrick’s backroom staff at Middlesbrough.
Bonner, 36, is regarded as one of the best young managers in the country having impressed at Cambridge United and he recently turned down the Rotherham job, much to the delight of the U’s supporters.
The Saints got rid of Hassenthutl after almost four years at St Mary’s following their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United at the weekend (6 November).
On Monday (7 November), sources claim Southampton are confident of appointing Jones within the next 48 hours.
O’Neil apparently interests Luton, whilst also putting forward Woodgate’s name for the job.
O’Neil, 39, has been manager of Bournemouth in the Premier League since Scott Parker’s sacking after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool earlier in the season.
In 10 fixtures in-charge, O’Neil has earned two wins and four draws. However, four straight defeats, including two from two-goal leads, has sent Bournemouth falling down to 17th in the Premier League table and they now loom outside the relegation zone by a single point.
O’Neil stays in interim charge for now rather than hold the position on the full-time basis.
This is what fans said as a new report reveals the shortlist for the potential job as new Luton manager if Nathan Jones departs…
@catchingthem: I will be gutted if Jones leaves, it wont work out for him imho his form of management will not work with the type of players he will have at Southampton and he is not a tactical genius is he?. #LTFC #COYH
@hatterneil: NJ has been brilliant for us and we’ve been brilliant for him. Hopefully we’ll get a few quid out of it, and good luck to him. More important though is that we still have fantastic owners who’ll continue the transformation of this football club regardless. We crack on. #coyh
@76Schofield: Grass wasn’t grenner last time he left Luton but he is a fantastic manager always liked him as a blades fan wish him luck but he’s done fantastic at Luton Town sometimes certain managers are meant for a certain club
@sombrerero: You’d have thought that his second contract with us would include something about not leaving us in the shit half-way through the season again.
@GFD1967: If he goes, he goes. The players and the club are still here. Make sure we’re properly compensated and move on.
@NeutralStokie: I think I speak for all Stoke fans when I say if you could just push this through today we’d be very grateful.
@DaveyBoySmith85: I don’t understand why the club want this to drag out. He won’t be focused on tomorrow night now and the players are bound to be impacted by the uncertainty 🤷♂️
@kingkimber_: Please reject our offer
@mickyh01: Well if he wants to talk he’s gone
@Josh_b222: Hoping he stays with you
@SAFC_Luke_2703: I’ve seen something like this before
@robbiek44: He’d be mad to leave. Couldn’t do it at Stoke, no chance in the Prem. Luton can’t cope without him… bad move for both.
@Scfctom18: And he’s snaked you lot again, like cmon for someone who loves the club you wouldn’t leave it again
@DAZHATTER: Let’s hope he doesn’t go BUT nobody can blame him if he does (mega salary & they are Premiership). 🤯⚽🤯
@GuestyBFC: He’s already tried and failed at a bigger club, some club and manager combos just work, he’s better off at Luton
@kelansarson: Nathan Jones deserves a crack at the Premier League for sure, he’s more than warranted it off the back of what he’s done recently at Kenilworth Road. Slight risk on Southampton’s end with no PL experience but he’ll certainly energise the downtrodden Saints group!
@giddsyboy: Disappointing, because NJ has done so well for us, but you can’t deny that managing Saints in the PL, will be a great opportunity for him. We’ve got a great board whom are optimistic that one day in the coming years, we’ll achieve PL status of our own, but NJ has chance NOW.
@OshoSZN: Going into the World Cup it wouldn’t be a terrible time. New manager would get a month to instil play style-tactics etc.
@ben_combes: Where’s the dislike button when you need it! But seriously, if he goes I hope we are compensated properly, have the world cup break to regroup, and wish him all the best. Keeping us up in the @SkyBetChamp in 2019/2020 was a miracle. P9: W4, D4, L1.
@juliew02: The long contract was given so we get decent compensation for him when the inevitable happened, NJ would only have signed the contract with assurances he could speak to other clubs when the time came!
@LeviLTFC: Can’t blame him, it’s a premier league job. Very worrying for us though!
@gkenn84: Not comfortable with him taking charge tomorrow. As professional as he may claim to be, his head won’t be there and players will be affected. Let cohen take the team.
@DarrenHare1965: As a Luton fan I’ll be sad to see him go , he’s a great manager and served us well , As with any kind of job if your offered a higher position it’s very hard not to take it as being a manager you strive to better yourself, good luck Nathan and thank you 👏
@Gr_avy: Hope he stays although, given the job he has done for us twice now, he deserves a bit more respect than the first time he left, however if it doesn’t work out I wouldn’t want him back again, need to move on fully if he does go now and rebuild with someone not named Jones.
@louisehersee: Ah crap, feel so bad for you lot – we’ve just been through it at Brighton though and it’s ended up better, fingers crossed this happens for you too.
— LTFC_Talk (@LTFC_Talk) November 7, 2022
Cometh the hour… pic.twitter.com/qy5b9ZklTD
— Joost Lerrkin (@kratkins13) November 7, 2022
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