New Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday reveal surely means there is a heightened chance he is heading to Southampton | OneFootball

Southampton have been burnt by compensation clauses in the past - but Saints now know how to prise Danny Rohl away from Yorkshire

Emerging details around Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday contract have caused much concern amongst the Owls’ fanbase.

Reports at the start of the week suggested that the £4million release clause in the German’s contract applied only to Premier League clubs, with the figure halved for any interested clubs in the Championship.

That represents a huge boost for seemingly doomed Southampton, with the Hampshire club interested in Rohl – whilst looking likely to be a Championship outfit next season.

Danny Rohl: From Ralph Hasenhuttl assistant to potential Southampton manager

Southampton fans have been aware of Rohl long before the impressive work he had carried out at Hillsborough with Sheffield Wednesday.

That is because the German coach served as assistant to former Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl at St Mary’s between December 2018 and July 2019, having worked with the Austrian at RB Leipzig.

Aside from time spent as Hasenhuttl’s assistant, Rohl also had spells with Bayern Munich and in the German national team set-up.

But it was not until October 2023, when Rohl was appointed boss at Sheffield Wednesday, that the German would receive his first taste of senior management.

After guiding the Owls away from relegation, Rohl has managed to avoid the battle at the bottom entirely in his first full season in charge of Wednesday.

That has reportedly attracted the interest of his old club, Southampton. When Saints sacked promotion-winning manager Russell Martin earlier this season, Rohl’s name was mentioned as a potential successor.

However, it has been alleged that the compensation involved put Saints off making a move for their ex-assistant.

But with Southampton almost certainly to be playing Championship football next season, it appears likely that they will take advantage of the reduced compensation fee to bring Rohl back to St Mary’s.

Compensation clause deja vu for Southampton

Southampton have been burnt before when it comes to navigating release clauses for Championship managers.

Following their relegation from the Premier League in 2023, Saints moved to secure the services of Russell Martin from Swansea City.

Just like the reported clause in Danny Rohl’s Wednesday contract, Swansea had inserted compensation terms based on the division of the interested club.

It was reported at the time that Premier League clubs would have to fork out £2million for Martin’s services, whilst sides in the Championship would pay a reduced compensation of £1.25million.

This led to a dispute between Southampton and Swansea City, with the latter arguing that the former had approached Martin whilst still a Premier League club, and as such, should pay the larger compensation fee.

Eventually the issue was settled out of court, after Swansea sued their former manager, but that experience will inform how Southampton approach a similar pursuit of Rohl this summer.

The south coast club now know to bide their time and activate Rohl’s clause when they are classified once again as a Championship club – something that is a near certainty with Southampton rock bottom of the Premier League with just nine points from 29 games.

Southampton switch makes sense for Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl

Not only does Rohl have previous with Southampton, buying him goodwill with the St Mary’s fanbase, but the German will also be encouraged by the difference in finances between his former employers and his current club.

Rohl only needs to look at how Southampton invested in Martin’s footballing philosophy when he joined from Swansea, indicating that the Owls boss could mould the Saints squad into his image.

Whilst Wednesday fans clearly back Rohl and hope that the German remains as their manager beyond the end of the season, stability and backing are certainly not as plentiful at Hillsborough, with Rohl often at loggerheads with owner Dejphon Chansiri.

As such, Rohl swapping the uncertainty of Wednesday for the comparative riches of Southampton would allow the promising young coach to advance his career, and allow him to escape the toxic atmosphere generated by Chansiri at Sheffield Wednesday.

With Chansiri at the helm, it feels unlikely that Rohl would want to stay much longer in Wednesday’s corner of Yorkshire whilst other opportunities catch his eye.