Just last week, when Leonardo Jardim’s role at Monaco was under scrutiny, Claude Puel was reportedly being lined up by the principality side to replace the Portuguese.
The former Leicester and Southampton manager has been without a job since being dismissed at King Power Stadium, and a return to France has been touted for some time.
Monaco would have made sense, since he had already spent time there, and already managed the club, but following their 3-1 win over local rivals nice, things have calmed in the principality.
On the other hand, that isn’t the case at Saint-Étienne, who, despite a largely successful and impressive summer of recruiting, have been struggling for results, the latest of which was a 1-0 home loss to Metz.
According to But! Football Club in France, the Ligue 1 side are expected to hold a meeting on Thursday with Claude Puel about taking over as the new manager to replace Ghislain Printant, in hope he can turn things around.
This would represent a good chance for the former Saints and Foxes tactician, who has accepted to meet and listen to Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo, the two main board members.
However, it’s made clear there is no guarantee he will accept the job.
We’ll have to see how this pans out, but of all the clubs in France to return to outside of the big four in France (and now Lille), Saint-Étienne are one of the more prestigious, and while it would be a step down from Leicester or Southampton, he would have a good team to work with and every chance of turning around their poor start to the campaign.
