Athletic Bilbao is in talks with former Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić about taking over at the club..

Sky Sports' renowned German transfer journalist Florian Plettenberg, citing a local Basque country media outlet in Spain, reported on Tuesday that Athletic Bilbao is in talks with former Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić about taking over at the club.

According to Plettenberg, Terzić, who chose to step back from coaching after leaving Dortmund to take a sabbatical, is ready to return to management this summer.

Currently, he has received approaches from Athletic Bilbao through his agent and has begun discussions regarding his coaching philosophy and plans.

Terzić has not yet reached any agreement with Lehoiak, and he is not opposed to the possibility of coaching overseas.

It is understood that Athletic Bilbao has chosen Terzić as a potential successor to the managerial position because of his outstanding ability to develop young players during his time at Dortmund.

Terzić was previously praised for his success in developing the potential of young players like Erling Håland, Jude Bellingham, Giovanni Reyna, Ansgar Knauff, and Youssoufa Moukoko during his time as Borussia Dortmund head coach.

Plettenberg also revealed that Real Sociedad had tried to approach Terzić several months ago, but he declined the offer from the regional rivals of Athletic Bilbao, as he is not ready yet to return to coaching at the time.

Athletic Bilbao head coach Ernesto Valverde previously announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season on the end of March.

The 62-year-old Valverde returned to San Mamés for the third time four years ago, in 2022, and has managed Athletic Bilbao for a total of 10 years.

During his tenure, Valverde led Bilbao to their first Copa del Rey title in 40 years, defeating Mallorca on penalties in the 2023/2024 season final, etching his name in the club's history.

In 2015, he also led Athletic Bilbao to the Supercopa de España title win.

Throughout Valverde's coaching career, he has managed 485 matches, 370 of which were La Liga games.

About Edin Terzić

Edin Terzić, 43, was born on October 30, 1982, in Menden, Germany. He is 1.84 meters tall, is a former non-league striker during his playing career and holds dual German and Croatian citizenship.

After retiring, Terzić joined Borussia Dortmund in 2010, where he served as a scout, assistant, and youth team coach under and club's and Liverpool legendary head coach Jürgen Klopp.

In 2013, Terzić accepted an invitation from Croatian renowned coach Slaven Bilić to serve as his assistant at Beşiktaş. In 2015, he followed Bilić to West Ham United as his assistant coach.

In 2018, Terzić returned to Borussia Dortmund as a first-team assistant coach. In December 2020, following the dismissal of then head coach Lucien Favre, Terzić was appointed interim head coach, leading the team for half a season and winning the DFB-Pokal.

In the summer of 2021, after Dortmund appointed former Borussia Mönchengladbach head coach Marko Rose as new head coach, Terzić opted to become the club's technical director, responsible for team planning and other related tasks.

However, after Rose's sacking the following summer, Terzić officially returned to become Dortmund's head coach again, remaining in the position until his departure in the summer of 2024.

Since then, he chose to take a sabbatical and has not entered the public eye.

Although there were rumours during this period claiming that Terzić was a potential candidate for AC Milan's managerial role, he resolutely declined the club's offer.

As Borussia Dortmund head coach, Terzić had coached the Bundesliga giants across a four-year spell, where he had managed them in 128 matches across all competitions, achieving 75 wins, 24 draws, and 29 losses, with a win percentage of 58.59%.

Image source: Internet / Sky Sports Germany