Real Sociedad have appointed reserve team coach Sergio Francisco as their manager from next season, replacing Imanol Alguacil, who will step down at the end of the current campaign, the LaLiga club announced on Friday.

Alguacil, who has been in charge since 2018, won the Copa del Rey in 2020 and led Real Sociedad to European football for five consecutive seasons. He informed the club on Thursday that he would step down at the end of the season when his contract expires.

The club have again decided to appoint from within and Francisco, who like Alguacil began his playing career at Real, has been in charge of their C and B teams since 2017, having previously managed Real Union in Spain's third tier.

Francisco, 45, has signed a contract until 2027 and will take charge of the reserves for the last time on Saturday before turning his attention to planning for next season.

Real Sociedad are 10th in the LaLiga table with 42 points and are still in with a chance of qualifying for Europe again.