Southampton announced on Sunday that it had appointed 32-year-old William Steele as first-team coach. He will replace Ivan Juric, who was sacked in April due to the team's relegation, and will serve until June 2028.

William Steele was born in Brainerd, Belgium, to English parents. Inspired by games such as Football Manager, he started to engage in football management at the age of 17, and has served as a video analyst, scout, temporary head coach and other positions in teams such as Sint-Truidden, Standard Liege, Royal Lias, Bierschott and Reims.

In August 2022, Steele started his independent coaching career in Reims. He also became the youngest coach in the top five leagues at the time and led the team to remain unbeaten for 16 rounds.

In July 2024, Steele was appointed as the head coach of Lens. During his tenure, he led the team to eighth place in the French Ligue 1 standings with a total record of 16 wins, 7 draws and 14 losses.

Regarding Steele's arrival, Southampton technical director Johannes Sporse explained: "Will is a young and innovative coach. He has accumulated rich experience in his coaching career and we are impressed by his coaching achievements and conversation."

"In the communication, his coaching philosophy and the positioning of the team style are very clear and clear. At the same time, he also showed his willingness and ability to flexibly adjust according to different situations, which is especially important in the Championship next season."

"We were impressed by his personality and values, and we felt he would be a great fit with the culture we were looking to build."

Steele said: "I am extremely proud and excited to join Southampton. Southampton has great potential and we have a great opportunity to achieve great things. "

“The project Southampton presented to me was very impressive. I believe we can create a distinctive style for the team and create a positive future.”

"I can't wait to meet you, the fans. I look forward to hearing your voices and feeling the passion and belief inside and outside of St Mary's."

He concluded: “I’m eager to get to work this summer, to build a close-knit team that everyone can be proud of, and finally lead the team back to the stage where we rightfully belong - the Premier League.”