An interesting insight into the relationship shared by Newcastle-linked tactician Lucien Favre, and current Magpies star Allan Saint-Maximin, has been forthcoming on Sunday evening.
Bruce’s replacement identified?
Links between Favre and the soon-to-be vacant managerial hotseat at St. James’ Park have of course picked up in a major way over recent hours.
Following the big-money takeover at Newcastle, which saw the long-maligned Mike Ashley replaced by a jaw-droppingly wealthy Saudi Arabian consortium on Thursday, Steve Bruce’s days on Tyneside are viewed as very much numbered.
In fact, on Sunday afternoon, word was forthcoming that the Magpies’ boss is ‘on the brink’ of being dismissed.
Newcastle United’s English head coach Steve Bruce gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Leeds United at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on September 17, 2021 (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)
Rumours, as a result, have since begun to fly regarding just who will be chosen by Yasir Al-Rumayyan and co. as the man to replace Bruce, and oversee a potentially prosperous new era in the North East of England.
A whole host of tacticians have been named as candidates, including the likes of Antonio Conte, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
On Sunday evening, though, somewhat out of the blue, ex-Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre took on strong front-runner status, with the Swiss boss’ odds having been slashed to just 4/1:
📈 There’s been a big mover in the next Newcastle manager market.
Former Dortmund boss Lucien Favre is the 4/1 favourite, in from 14/1.
Is he the right man for #NUFC? pic.twitter.com/1EbaS2mz8o
— Betfair (@Betfair) October 10, 2021
Concern for ASM?
In turn, if the bookmakers’ predictions are anything to go by, it would not be a shock to see Favre appointed as Newcastle’s new manager at some point within the next couple of weeks.
And though most on Tyneside would no doubt welcome the experienced tactician with open arms, one current member of the Magpies’ setup, and a key one at that, could well be left altogether unimpressed by such an appointment.
This comes after reports of previous issues between Favre and Allan Saint-Maximin resurfaced across social media.
Dortmund’s Swiss coach Lucien Favre gives an interview prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match BVB Borussia Dortmund v VfB Stuttgart at the Signal Iduna Park Stadium in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 12, 2020. (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN / various sources / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by FOCKE STRANGMANN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The info comes courtesy of the reliable Get French Football News, who highlight a noteworthy anecdote from back in 2017.
It is claimed that, amid his stint in charge of OGC Nice, Favre was left so incensed by the behaviour of Saint-Maximin during a training session that the 63-year-old ‘stormed-off mid-session’, to demand that the club’s board sanction the winger’s sale with immediate effect.
Not only that, but this outburst is said to have come during ASM’s very first day of training with Les Aiglons, resulting in the suggestion that his one-time boss ‘does not like Saint-Maximin at all’:
Lucien Favre does not like Allan Saint Maximin at all. https://t.co/qHLZ7jVHG7
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) October 10, 2021
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