Foxes of Leicester
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Is Claude Puel a good fit for Leicester City?

By Jack Mceachen

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 07: Claude Puel, Manager of Southampton gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on May 7, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 07: Claude Puel, Manager of Southampton gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on May 7, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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So, former Southampton manager Claude Puel has been appointed as Leicester City’s new boss on a two-and-a-half year deal. Let’s look at how it’ll work out.

Some may have been surprised following Claude Puel’s appointment as Leicester manager, after being sacked by Southampton last season, but could he be a perfect fit for the Foxes?

Who is Claude Puel?

Puel has spent his entire career – outside of a year at Southampton – either playing or coaching in France. Since 1999, he has managed AS Monaco, Lille, Olympique Lyonnais and OGC Nice – all with mixed success.

In his first job at Monaco, he won the French league title after 18 months in the job, only for his contract not to be renewed at the end of the following season.

PARIS – NOVEMBER 02: Coach Claude Puel of Lille looks on during the UEFA Champions league match between Lille and Manchester United at Stade De France on November 2, 2005 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
PARIS – NOVEMBER 02: Coach Claude Puel of Lille looks on during the UEFA Champions league match between Lille and Manchester United at Stade De France on November 2, 2005 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

He spent six years at Lille, where he made strides both domestically and in Europe, guiding the French side to second place in 2004/05 and spending two years in the UEFA Champions League.

At Lyon, he took the club to a Champions League semi-final for the first time in its history in 2010 before being sacked in 2011. At Nice, Puel had a turbulent time, taking the club to two fourth-placed finishes but also ending seasons in 11th and 17th.

He then took the Southampton job after Ronald Koeman left for Everton. Puel led the club to an eighth-place finish in his first and only season at the club, which included a trip to Wembley for the EFL Cup Final against Manchester United, where the Saints lost 3-2.