Luís Norton de Matos is set to be appointed as the head coach of the India Under 17 national team, Goal can confirm.
The Portuguese-born is expected to arrive in India at the end of the month and will meet All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel alongside Kushal Das, AIFF General Secretary, on 1st March in Mumbai to chalk out contract details.
"I am not supposed to speak about this at this point of time. I may come to India which depends on the visa. At this point there is no agreement yet," he told Goal.
India U17 coach Nicolai Adam sacked by the AIFF
De Matos was among the eight candidates shortlisted by the AIFF which included the likes of Edgar Borges, Oscar Bruzon, Colm Toal, Stuart Pearce and Abraham Garcia. The AIFF interviewed a select few candidates earlier this week and de Matos came out as the frontrunner for the job.
A SL Benfica youth product, de Matos spent all his playing career in Portugal and then later moved to management. Most notably, the 63-year-old coached the Guinea-Bissau men's national team for a couple of years and also coached Benfica's 'B' side. Amongst the big names to have come from under his tutelage, the most notable are Goncalo Guedes, Renato Sanches, Bernardo Silva and Victor Lindelof.
Kushal Das pens a contract extension
De Matos has also been capped at the international level for Portugal five times, managing to score one goal for The Selecoes .
India has been on the lookout for a coach for its Under-17 team since Nicolai Adam and the AIFF parted ways earlier this month. De Matos only has less than eight months to lead the India colts into the World Cup starting on 6th October in India.