Roma set to rope in Ranieri as new coach

If the grapevine is to be believed, Claudio Ranieri is set to be appointed as Italian Serie A giants AS Roma's new coach on an interim basis until the end of the season.

According to some local media reports, Ranieri will arrive in the Italian capital after the side gave the pink slip to Eusebio Di Francesco on Thursday.

One of the most prolific club coaches in European football, particularly in the English Premier League, Ranieri memorably guided Leicester City to the 2016 English Premier League title before he was shown the door in the next season.

AS Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco during the Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match against FC Porto at Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal, March 6. /VCG Photo

The 67-year-old's brief spell as manager of Premier League strugglers Fulham abruptly ended last month after he was at the helm for just four months. The Italian had coached Roma from 2009 to 2011.

Di Francesco was in charge of the Rome club since June 2017, but his time was up when his side suffered a 3-1 loss in the second leg of the last 16 against FC Porto on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old former Roma midfielder led the Giallorossi to the Champions League semi-finals last season for the first time since 1984, including an epic 3-0 comeback win against Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

But the club's new season has been marked by indifferent form and struggles as Roma was handed over a humiliating 7-1 defeat by Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia last month. The Serie A side then suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat last weekend against their bitter city rivals Lazio. The last straw was the defeat to Porto.