Marseille 'set to replace Gennaro Gattuso with Jean-Louis Gasset'

Former AC Milan, Valencia and Napoli head coach Gattuso was only hired by Les Olympiens in September to replace the outgoing Marcelino, who resigned from his post just seven games into his reign.

Marseille were in a respectable third position in the Ligue 1 table when Marcelino's stay came to a premature end, but during Gattuso's time at the helm, the former Champions League winners have dropped to a measly ninth place.

A 1-0 defeat to Brest on Sunday leaves Marseille winless in six matches across all competitions, during which time they have also been knocked out of the Coupe de France on penalties by Rennes in the last 32.

Les Olympiens are still vying for success in the Europa League and drew 2-2 with Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their knockout round playoff on Thursday, but they blew a one-goal lead twice in the second half of that clash.

Owing to a six-game winless streak in the top flight alone, Marseille are eight points adrift of the Champions League positions and fifth-placed Monaco, while Lens are six points better off in the Europa Conference League spot.

Marseille's troubled 2023-24 campaign has also seen fan frustrations hit new heights, and meetings have been held with the club's ultras, who allegedly warned that future rendezvous would not be so amicable if results did not improve.

With Les Olympiens sliding further down the rankings, Foot Mercato reports that Gattuso has been sacked by Marseille, departing with just nine wins from his 24 matches in charge.

Gattuso - who was only under contract at the Orange Velodrome until the end of the season - will apparently be succeeded by Gasset, who has been out of work since memorably being given the boot by Ivory Coast midway through the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 70-year-old was put in charge of the Elephants in May 2022, who opened their AFCON campaign with a 2-0 beating of Guinea-Bissau before suffering 1-0 and 4-0 losses to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea respectively.

Ivory Coast still reached the knockout rounds as the fourth-best third-placed team, but Gasset was relieved of his duties, and caretaker manager Emerse Fae masterminded an incredible revival which saw the Elephants win the continental title in their homeland.

Prior to taking the reins with Ivory Coast, Gasset was first-team manager of Bordeaux during the 2020-21 season - helping Les Girondins to a 12th-placed finish in Ligue 1 - prior to which he was also in charge of Saint-Etienne and Montpellier HSC.

A former servant of Laurent Blanc, Gasset was his compatriot's assistant manager at both Paris Saint-Germain and France, and his first game at the Marseille helm could come on Thursday, when Les Olympiens host Shakhtar in the second leg of their Europa League playoff.