According to The Mirror, Southampton are being linked with former Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim with manager Mark Hughes’ future in doubt.
The Saints are winless in their last nine league games, and are sat in 18th place in the Premier League. The team have only managed one league win this season, the joint fewest in England’s top four leagues, and Hughes’ departure looks more than likely.
Jardim managed Monaco to the Ligue 1 title two seasons ago, as well as the semi-finals of the Champions League in the same year, but was fired in October after a horrendous start to the season. Not only does he come with a huge pedigree, but the Portuguese has many characteristics that would make him a success at St Mary’s.
Jardim has forged a reputation of being a manager that can get the best from limited resources, which would obviously be very appealing to the board at Southampton. Furthermore, he is a manager that has liked to deploy a 4-4-2 formation, which suits the personnel at The Saints, particularly given their wealth of strikers.
While these factors suggest that Jardim would be a great fit at Southampton, it just seems like an odd move for a manager at this juncture in his career. While his departure from the French outfit was ignominious, there is no doubting the success that he had while at Monaco, and his stock surely rose. He certainly did enough to earn the interest from some of Europe’s big guns, and Southampton may not be able to compete with these clubs for his signature.
