More evidence that Paulo Sousa will soon manage New York

Evidence is growing swiftly that weekend reports on Paulo Sousa are correct, that the veteran of Portuguese soccer will soon be named New York Red Bulls manager.

The Red Bulls have been without a manager since just after their playoff elimination in November, as new club directors Andy Roxburgh and Gerard Houllier plot the new course for Major League Soccer’s most visible East Coast franchise.

ESPN analyst Alexi Lalas was the first to report that Sousa, who spent three years managing in the Hungarian league, would soon be named in New York. Lalas said so Saturday on his podcast The Shot.

Today comes news that Sousa has left his post in Hungary as manager at Videoton, where the 42-year-old former midfielder (capped 51 times for Portugal).

If this is a coincidence, it really is an extraordinary one.

Other reports have indicated that former U.S. national team midfielder Claudio Reyna would become an assistant at Red Bull Arena, providing the current regime with at least once voice with some MLS experience.

Reyna’s knowledge of MLS isn’t exactly vast; he played just 29 matches over an injury-troubled season and a half with the club, retiring during the summer of 2008. He does, at least, know most of the important figures around domestic soccer.

(MORE: Yet another man with zero MLS experience named manager)