Premier League strugglers, Southampton, have appointed Nathan Jones to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl as the club’s new manager on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Southampton announced via a statement on Thursday.

“Nathan Jones has been appointed Men’s First Team Manager, signing a contract until 2026,” the club stated.

Jones, who left Luton to take charge of the Saints, agreed his deal with the Premier League club on Wednesday before watching their Carabao Cup penalty shootout victory over Sheffield.

He will be joined by coaches Chris Cohen and Alan Sheehan.

It was further learnt that a compensation package of around £2.5m will be paid to the Championship club.

Jones faces a daunting first match in charge at home to Liverpool on Saturday in Southampton’s last fixture before the World Cup.

Speaking on his appointment on Thursday, Jones said: “I’m really proud to be given this opportunity. I know a lot about the club from back in the days of The Dell, to coming here to St Mary’s, and it’s a wonderful football club.

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“A lot of my family are Southampton fans, which doesn’t half help, and I feel really, really proud to be given the opportunity, and I’m really looking forward to getting started.

“Obviously, I wanted to manage in the Premier League, I’ve dreamt of that since I’ve become a coach or a manager, but this club in particular – because of how it’s run, because of the structure, because of how they look deeper than just results – really appeals to me.”

Jones was in his second spell in charge of Luton, having led them to the Championship play-off semi-finals last season, where they lost to Huddersfield.

He also guided the club to automatic promotion from League Two when he was first appointed.

Nathan Jones left the club in 2019 to go to Stoke but after an unsuccessful nine months in charge, he was sacked and returned to the Hatters in May the following year.

Luton are ninth in the Championship, two points adrift of the play-off places after 20 games.

Southampton sacked Hasenhuttl on Monday after nearly four years in charge at the club following their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle.

The Austrian was the Premier League’s fourth-longest serving manager, having taken over at St Mary’s in December 2018, but departed with the club inside the bottom three.

The Star