CLAUDIO RANIERI could reportedly be named as Lille’s new manager just weeks after leaving the Sampdoria hot-seat.
The Ligue 1 champions see the 69-year-old as the perfect candidate to replace ex-boss Christophe Galtier, Le Parisien claim.
Galtier sensationally quit two days after leading the French outfit to their first league title since 2011.
And the club’s president Olivier Letang has made it his priority to hire Ranieri to occupy the role, according to the report.
Letang urgently wants to seal the deal and didn’t want to start pre-season training without a manager.
Ranieri became Letang’s No.1 target after Laurent Blanc, Lucien Favre and Patrick Viera, who’s reportedly set to be named as Crystal Palace’s new boss, all allegedly turned down the role.
The Italian has been out of work since deciding not to renew his contract with Sampdoria when the Serie A season finished at the end of May.
He was given the job in 2019 on a two-year deal which officially ended yesterday.
Ranieri’s well suited to French football, he led Monaco to the Ligue 2 title in 2013, then to second place in Ligue 1 the following season.
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The veteran’s experience of winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016 could also come in handy in helping the French titans in keeping their grip on the trophy next season.
If he does decide to take the job, it will be ‘The Tinkerman’s’ 21st managerial role in a career spanning 35-years which has taken him all over the globe.
During those three-and-a-half decades he’s coached several major clubs including Chelsea, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and even Fulham.
The lure of Champions League football with Lille could tempt Ranieri to go back to France.
He will have bitter-sweet memories of the elite European tournament where he guided Chelsea to the semi-final in 2004, before crashing out to his old side Monaco.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
