beIN SPORTS

By Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip)

With the paint barely dry on the 2015-16 season, OGC Nice moved quickly to start planning for next campaign by announcing on Tuesday that Claude Puel has not renewed his contract and that his replacement at Allianz Riviera is Lucien Favre.

After four mixed but largely successful terms with the Cote d’Azur outfit, Puel leaves and may now resurface with former club AS Monaco or ailing giants Olympique de Marseille.

The 54-year-old departs Nice having qualified them for next season’s UEFA Europa League and also with his reputation restored after an acrimonious end to his time with Olympique Lyonnais between 2008-11.

Puel led Les Aiglons to two fourth-placed finishes in his time there, as well as one 11th and one 17th-placed.

In his final campaign in charge, the former Monaco, Lille OSC and OL tactician guided his team to a mere two points shy of third-placed UEFA Champions League qualifiers and Cote d’Azur rivals ASM.

Puel can consider himself unlucky that he lost out to Paris Saint-Germain’s Laurent Blanc for the most recent Ligue 1 Coach of the Year award, having punched far further above his weight than Le President in the capital.

Despite his fantastic 2015-16 term and overall impressive tenure, though, the time was arguably right for Puel to move on.

The man from Castres has taken Nice as far as he probably can and with 17-goal star man Hatem Ben Arfa set to leave and another influential figure in 14-goal striker Valere Germain set to return to neighbours Monaco after a fruitful loan spell, significant rebuilding is required.

Perhaps that is why the four-time French champions and Puel decided to part ways; the two parties were reportedly unable to agree a two-year contract extension and this may well have been down to the fact that the next stage of the project will require longer than that.

This is where Favre comes in. The Swiss tactician has signed a three-year deal and arrives at a moment where the momentum built up under Puel needs to be maintained.

Favre’s decision to move to Allianz Riviera is a surprise one and an undoubted coup for Nice. The 58-year-old is coming off the back of a largely successful spell with Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Bundesliga and he also impressed with Hertha Berlin and FC Zurich.

When he finally gets to work on the Cote d’Azur, Favre will find that he has been left a solid squad by Puel (even if it does ultimately lack two of this season’s best players). The likes of Jean Michael Seri, Vincent Koziello and Nampalys Mendy all played vital roles in OGCN’s recent success and should stay.

The man from Saint-Barthelemy will also discover a superb stadium, good youth facilities and a fertile academy.

There is potential for Favre to do wonderful things in Nice and with a bit of investment and fresh tactical ideas, which the former Switzerland international is expected to bring, Les Aiglons are a story to keep an eye on in France over the next few years.

Favre has no coaching experience in Ligue 1 and only played in Le Championnat for one season with Toulouse in 1983-84. However, the Swiss’ achievements in his home country and Germany speak for themselves and OGCN have landed themselves a very capable tactician.

Puel deserves immense credit for what he has achieved with Nice over the past four years and now that he has rebuilt his reputation after it took a battering in Lyon, do not expect him to be out of work for long.

With Leonardo Jardim’s future in Monaco uncertain, a return to Stade Louis II could be on the cards for Les Monegasques’ ex-coach. The challenge of rebuilding fallen giants Marseille might also appeal to Puel.

Favre will now face the difficult, although not impossible, task of building on his predecessor’s excellent work. The former Monchengladbach man could turn Nice into top five regulars and perhaps even push them into the top three in the way that he did with Die Fohlen in 2014-15.

Les Aiglons had just started to spread their wings under Puel but now they have the chance to soar under Favre.