TEHRAN – Esteghlal football club will reportedly finalize a contract with Iranian-German coach Alexander Nouri within the next few days.

The Blues were going to bring Andrea Stramaccioni back to the team but failed to reach an agreement with the Italian coach.

Now, a source close to the Iranian club has said that they have reached an initial agreement but the deal will be finalized after the 2020 AFC Champions League.

Nouri started his coaching career in 2014 at the VfB Oldenburg and has also coached Werder Bremen, FC Ingolstadt and Hertha BSC.

The 41-year-old coach had been also linked with Iranian clubs Tractor and Persepolis.

The Iranian popular football team are headed by Majid Namjoo Motlagh after Farhad Majidi stepped down from his role in early September.