Former Italian national team coach Roberto Donadoni has agreed a deal with Chinese super league (CSL) side Shenzhen FC, sources told Xinhua on Monday.

"The deal was already done between Donadoni and Shenzhen and the club will make an official announcement soon," a club official said.

Donadoni arrived in China on Sunday and watched the match Shenzhen lose to Jiangsu 2-0 in Nanjing.

The Italian will succeed Spaniard Juan Caro, who guided Shenzhen to promote from the second division last season but suffered from a 12-match winning drought this season in the Chinese Super League.

"The board decided to make a change as early as two weeks before. Caro is a good coach, but we needed a win, and we needed badly," the club official said.

Winning only three in 20 matches, Shenzhen is currently 15th in the CSL table. Donadoni has little time but plenty to do in order to save the team from relegation.

Donadoni began his coaching career in 2001, and he was later appointed head coach of the Italy national team, succeeding Marcello Lippi, who resigned after winning the 2006 World Cup.

Donadoni has not managed since being sacked by Serie A club Bologna last year. The 56-year-old guided the Italian national team to quarter-finals in European Championships in 2008 and coached different Italian clubs including Napoli, Cagliari and Palma.