Reports: Former Ligue 1 manager to replace Julen Lopetegui at Real Madrid
What's the rumour?
According to Marca, former Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim could take over the reins at Real Madrid in the wake of Julen Lopetegui's sacking.
The Spanish outlet claims that Jardim has emerged as the likely candidate for Los Blancos managerial job ahead of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino. Although Madrid are still keen to secure Pochettino's services, they have realized that it might be impossible to prise him away during the season.
In case you didn't know...
Julen Lopetegui was given the sack by Real Madrid following their 5-1 humiliating loss against Barcelona on Sunday. Santiago Solari, the Madrid Castilla coach, has been appointed in place of him as Real Madrid's interim manager as the search continues for a new manager.
The heart of the matter
Needless to say, Real Madrid have got off to a disappointing start this season. The massive turnaround in the last transfer window that saw the departures of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo has greatly afflicted the Spanish giants, who now sit 9th on La Liga table having managed only 14 points in 10 league encounters.
Speaking of Leonardo Jardim, the Portuguese manager is presently out of work after he was sacked by AS Monaco about a month ago. Jardim is largely known for having churned out outstanding talents during his stint at Monaco, including the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Tiémoué Bakayoko and Thomas Lemar.
Rumour probability: 5/10
Antonio Conte, who was the favourite to replace Julen Lopetegui, has already been ruled out of the race. A couple of other managers have also rejected Madrid's offer bearing in mind the wretched situation of the club. In consequence, Jardim could be the manager the hierarchy might resort to.
What's next?
As things stand, Solari will be managing Real Madrid for the next few weeks until Perez's hunt for an able manager comes to fruition.