Minnesota’s Eric Ramsay in frame for Southampton job – source

Southampton have made contact with Minnesota United boss Eric Ramsay as they continue their search for a new manager, a source has told ESPN.

The south coast club have already been relegated from the Premier League and are playing out the rest of the campaign under interim head coach Simon Rusk, following Ivan Juric’s exit earlier this month.

The source said initial talks have taken place with Ramsay but the club are not currently close to an appointment and have not yet identified a preferred candidate.

When asked about links to the Southampton job during a post-match news conference after the Loons’ 3-1 loss to Vancouver, Ramsay said: “It’s news to me. Nothing I would comment on here.”

Ramsay, 33, is currently the youngest permanent head coach in MLS having previously worked at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag before briefly adding a coaching role with Wales during Rob Page’s spell in charge.

After taking over at Minnesota last year, Ramsay guided the team to 6th place in the Western Conference and later a semifinal place.

When contacted by ESPN, a separate source close to the club played down the link between Southampton and Ramsay, who is thought to have attracted interest from a number of top clubs.

Speaking in February about his decision to move to MLS, Ramsay appeared to play down the appeal of moving to the Championship, English football’s second tier, where Southampton will play their football next season.

“I am self-aware enough to know I am by no means the finished article as a head coach,” he told the BBC.

“I wanted an experience that was going to give me the best chance to develop, the opportunity to make some mistakes and manage something that feels big.

“It feels like there is scrutiny on MLS. There is media to deal with. There is pressure you have to deal with exist, albeit not to the same extent as England.

“The Championship would have been equally as testing, if not more so, but with that constant nagging doubt, looking objectively, that there is a much shorter life-cycle for guys who go into that league. All round this was a relatively sensible decision.”