A Spanish coach is close to taking charge of Saudi club Al-Ahli next season, replacing the German Matthias Jaissle.
Press reports confirmed Jaissle handed in his resignation from Al-Ahli on Thursday, the day before yesterday, to take over at Newcastle United next season as successor to Eddie Howe.
Al-Ahli have been linked with a host of coaches since Jaissle's departure. The names in the frame include the Spaniard Xavi Hernandez, the Dutchman Arne Slot, and the Portuguese trio of Vitor Pereira, Nuno Santo and Sergio Conceicao.
Now the reliable journalist Santi Aouna has thrown another name into the mix: the Spaniard Marcelino, former manager of Villarreal.
Writing on his personal account on the platform "X", Aouna said negotiations between Al-Ahli and Marcelino are at an advanced stage after the Spaniard agreed to lead the team next season.
The 60-year-old boasts an illustrious coaching career that began some 30 years ago. He has spent most of it in the Spanish league, with the exception of a brief spell at Marseille in 2023.
Marcelino has taken charge of some of Spain's biggest clubs along the way, among them Villarreal, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and Real Zaragoza.
Silverware, though, has proved harder to come by. He has won just two major titles: the Copa del Rey in 2019 with Valencia and the Spanish Super Cup in 2021 with Athletic Bilbao.
Al-Ahli's fans will hope Marcelino can prove a worthy replacement for Jaissle, who led the Saudi side for three years. In that time he won the AFC Champions League Elite title twice and the Saudi Super Cup once.