On Sunday afternoon, stories were emerging in England that Nantes boss Sergio Conceicao had snubbed the opportunity to take over at Leicester City following Claudio Ranieri’s sacking last Thursday.
The Portuguese manager, who has taken the Ligue 1 side from 19th to 12th in the league in the space of a couple of months, was said to be one of the names on the Foxes’ shortlist with the club currently 18th in the Premier League.
L’Equipe on Monday have a bit of an update on the situation, with the French newspaper making it clear Conceicao hasn’t actually made a decision yet, yet an exit remained unlikely.
The manager, who was appointed as Nantes manager in early December, knows that leaving the club three months after arriving isn’t exactly great timing, but, on the other hand, the opportunity to manage in England doesn’t come everyday.
However, the reason why he probably won’t be joining Leicester City is Nantes’ chairman Waldemar Kita, who spoke to L’Equipe about the situation for their Monday edition.
He said: “That he’s been contacted means that he’s good, but I don’t see how he could be going there, because he has a contract and there’s no way he’s leaving now or at the end of the season.
“For me, there’s nothing to talk about. If Juventus or Inter Milan came forward, I’d understand, but not Leicester who are fighting against relegation, especially when he’ll be able to aim for a very big club in two to three years.”
The chairman went onto explain he was yet to actually talk with his manager about the situation, but he didn’t think Conceicao would ask him to leave, mostly because of the timing.
Leicester face Liverpool on Monday night in their first game without Claudio Ranieri at the helm since the beginning of the 2015-16 season, which ended in an unlikely triumph as the Foxes lifted the Premier League trophy after finishing the season 10 points clear of second placed Arsenal.
