Marseille are reportedly closing in on the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as their new head coach.
Les Olympiens parted ways with Marcelino after just seven games at the helm earlier this month, having hired the Spaniard to succeed Igor Tudor.
The former Athletic Bilbao boss revealed that threatening remarks from the club's ultras towards club staff - including president Pablo Longoria - led to him stepping down from his post.
Jacques Abardonado was placed in interim charge for the weekend's showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique, overseeing a chastening 4-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes.
Abardonado was never expected to take the reins on a permanent basis, and according to Foot Mercato - via Get French Football News - Gattuso is on the brink of joining the club.
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The 45-year-old has been out of work since his time at Valencia came to an end in January, and the report adds that he should be confirmed as Marseille's new manager later on Wednesday.
Gattuso was believed to be a candidate to take the Lyon job following Laurent Blanc's exit, but the plans were met with fierce backlash, and Les Gones opted to appoint Fabio Grosso instead.
The former AC Milan midfielder is therefore expected to be in the dugout for Marseille's imminent Ligue 1 showdown with Monaco on Saturday, where Les Olympiens will seek to arrest a four-game winless run.
After retiring as a player in 2013, Gattuso entered the managerial landscape with Palermo, before also taking charge of Crete, Pisa and former club AC Milan, whom he left at the end of the 2018-19 season.
The Italian then took the reins at Napoli in the winter of 2019 and won the Coppa Italia in his first half-season at the club, masterminding a 4-2 win over Juventus in the final for his first piece of managerial silverware.
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Gattuso was let go as Napoli manager after failing to lead the club to qualification for the 2021-22 Champions League, and he only won seven of his 22 games in charge of Valencia in the first half of the 2022-23 campaign.
Marseille have apparently taken a punt on Gattuso after abandoning plans to hire former Lille and PSG head coach Christophe Galtier, who had two spells with Les Olympiens as a player.
The 57-year-old was believed to have been the club's first-choice head coach, but a multitude of factors led to Marseille dropping their interest, including the allegations of racism against Galtier from his time in charge of Nice.
Furthermore, Marseille were said to have been concerned about the reaction from supporters given Galtier's affiliation with PSG, and the process to agree terms with the Frenchman would have lengthier than with Gattuso.
Ben Knapton
