Former Hibs boss 'on verge' of sensational new job as potential Easter Road return rumours seemingly shut down

Neil Lennon spent two and a half years with Hibs and online talk had seen his name linked with a return to Easter Road

Former Hibs boss Neil Lennon looks set to return to management after 19 months out of the game. According to the Sun, Lennon is on the verge of becoming Rapid Bucharest's new manager, with the Northern Irishman holding talks with the club last week.

The report claims the deal could be announced after the Romanian side's weekend clash with cross-city rivals Steaua Bucharest, their final game of the season, with Lennon all set to put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the club.

It comes amid online speculation among supporters that Lennon could be a candidate to return to Easter Road and take over as manager following the departure of Nick Montgomery, who lost his job following Sunday's 4-0 loss to Aberdeen. However, Lennon now seems to have ruled himself out of the running for the Hibs job by taking up the position in the Romanian capital.

The club finished second in the SuperLiga before the play-off round and looked capable of going on to secure European qualification. However, their form has tailed off alarmingly since the league split, failing to win any of their last nine games, and such form has prompted the club to make a change.

Lennon has been out of management since losing his job at Cypriot side Omonia in October 2022 after just 29 games. He won 11 of those matches and competed well against Manchester United and Real Sociedad in the Europa League, but losses to newly promoted sides in the league saw his tenure come to an end.

The job in Romania will be his sixth permanent position as a manager, having started at Celtic, where he spent a chunk of his career as a player. He moved on to Bolton Wanderers in 2014 and joined Hibs in 2016. The 52-year-old had two and a half years in Edinburgh and took charge of 123 games with a win percentage of 47.97, helping the club win promotion from the Championship before eventually leaving in January 2019.

Lennon then returned to Parkhead for another two years and ended up guiding the club through the Covid pandemic.