GELSENKIRCHEN - Dutchman Fred Rutten looks set to become coach of Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 it was revealed on Monday.
The 45-year-old is presently coach of Dutch side Twente Enschede but Schalke general manager Andreas Muller admitted that they were close to an agreement over Rutten replacing Mirko Slomka, who was sacked the weekend before last.
"This track is more hot than cold," said Muller.
According to 'Bild' Rutten, who has been in charge of Twente since July 2006 having played there all his career and guided them to fourth this season, would be offered a two year contract with Twente receiving 500,000 euros in compensation.
Schalke are presently being coached by former players Michael Buskens and Youri Mulder, the latter is a former assistant to Rutten.
Slomka guided Schalke to their first ever Champions League quarter-finals this season but a subsequent 5-1 hammering by Werder Bremen was the final straw for club president Josef Schnusenberg.
However, Rutten does not quite fulfil Schnusenberg's pledge earlier this season when the axe first hovered over Slomka that the club needed a coach of international standing.
jr/pi08
04/21/2008 12:01 GMT