Southampton chief exec Martin Semmens admits plans are in place for manager Ralph Hasenhuttl's eventual successor.
Hasenhuttl has admitted that his current plan is to retire from coaching at the end of his Saints contract in 2024, telling media that the job is “very demanding".
Although that is not set in stone and could change inbetween the two-and-a-half years, Semmens has revealed that Saints have already been working hard behind the scenes to identify a potential replacement.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Semmens said: “Today is valentine's day as you know so it's a good analogy to talk about dating.
“We always talk about dating as you know, when you go and look for a new manager, and for the record, we do a huge amount of scouting on new managers, we do know potentially who our new manager will be and Ralph and I have talked about it.
“It's not something to be afraid of saying out loud, people don't like to say that, but it is just as important as buying a new striker. When you talk about dating, it is about fit. Ralph, I believe, is the best manager in the world for Southampton football club.
“I don't think he would be the best manager for another club, he might be the wrong one. Pep Guardiola might be an awesome manger but I don't think he'd actually do the right job for us because it's a different level and stage, so it's about that marriage between what we want and what that coach wants at the time."
He continued: “But there are some givens and some sticks of dynamite in the middle of it, like playing young players and having the aspiration that building a club and building a group of players is more important to him than necessarily winning a trophy.
“So as a manager he (Hasenhuttl) believes in young players, he talks a lot about this empty hard drive and developing young people and making them better, but he sees building a club's infrastructure and finishing top 10 in the league and going to beat Spurs on Wednesday night as his glory moment.
“He doesn't believe that winning the Champions League is what he wants to do in his heart, it doesn't make him the right or the wrong manager in the world it is just right for us at this moment in time."
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