Southampton manager Mark Hughes is under an avalanche of pressure ahead of this weekend’s clash at home to Manchester United, whose own boss Jose Mourinho is, after a brief respite, once again feeling the heat in the Sack Race following his side’s deflating draw against Crystal Palace.
The Portuguese coach, a 15/2 shot for the chop, has now alarmingly overseen the worst ever Man Utd start in the Premier League era (after 13 matches).
In recent months the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Antonio Conte have been hotly linked with a move to Old Trafford, but now another candidate, Leonardo Jardim, is reportedly set to shun a switch to the Premier League in order to take charge of Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
The former Monaco manager has been out-of-work since losing his job at the Ligue 1 club last month. At one point he was an 8/1 shot to replace Mourinho, and even 3/1 to snatch Hughes’ job at Saints, while he also turned down an approach from Fulham last week.
However, sports journalist Mootaz Chehade has tweeted that the Portuguese boss has now set his sights on Al-Nassr, who have previously been managed by both Fabio Cannavaro and Walter Zenga.
It’s undoubtedly a blow for those United fans who craved the appointment of Jardim, a manager who employed a dazzling brand of attacking football en route to winning the French league and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. He also oversaw the development of the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, and more pertinently Anthony Martial, who moved to Man Utd in 2015.
It was inevitable that Monaco would eventually experience a setback on the pitch given the astonishing amount of talent that was exchanged in return for big wads of cash, meaning Jardim’s reputation remains intact despite his October sacking.
The 44-year-old undoubtedly has the tools to thrive on English soil, but the latest developments concerning his next steps in the managerial arena means that the Premier League will have to wait to acquire his services.
