OMNISPORT

Could Jurgen Klinsmann be on his way to the south coast of England?

Betting markets in the United Kingdom certainly seem to think so. The U.S. national team manager has emerged as the odds-on favorite to replace Ronald Koeman at Premier League club Southampton, after the latter departed for Everton following the 2015-16 EPL campaign.

The odds on Klinsmann are incredibly short at many overseas sites – he is as low as 1-to-3 at some shops. For comparison, second-favorite Manuel Pellegrini generally is hovering around 2-to-1 and 3-to-1.

MORE: Discussing the U.S. loss | U.S. outclassed by Argentina

Klinsmann’s job security with the U.S. national team appeared to be on shakier ground following a disappointing 2015 which included a Gold Cup semifinal defeat to Jamaica and a CONCACAF Cup loss to Mexico, which cost the United States a chance at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

That seat only appeared to grow warmer after a 2-0 defeat to Colombia to kick off the Copa America Centenario looked to spell a short tournament for the U.S.

However, the U.S. reeled off three straight victories, winning its group and defeating Ecuador in the quarterfinals before getting routed 4-0 by Argentina in the semifinals. The U.S. has a chance to finish third, its highest-ever placement in the Copa America, if it can secure a victory in the consolation match against Colombia on Saturday. 

It is worth noting oddsmakers have to adjust for a variety of factors, including what incoming money dictates. Therefore if belief over Klinsmann was strong, markets would adjust accordingly even without inside information over a possible deal.

USA Today reports of the bets on the Southampton job at one site, 95 percent of those were on Klinsmann over a 48-hour period, certainly enough to influence betting markets.

As noted in the piece – that can go both ways. While it has resulted in the correct manager being hired in the past, Bob Bradley failed to land the Aston Villa job in 2010 after oddsmakers made him the favorite.

So stay tuned. Jurgen Klinsmann’s time with the U.S. national team may just be coming to an end.

Just don’t bet on it, unless you have no problem taking very short odds.