Paris, July 6: Lille have appointed Jocelyn Gourvennec as their new head coach to succeed Christoph Galtier, who guided the club to Ligue 1 glory in 2020-21.
Galtier guided Lille to a shock Ligue 1 title after dethroning Paris Saint-Germain for their first league crown since 2010-11, however, he left and eventually joined rivals Nice.
Lille have now surprisingly turned to Gourvennec, with the 49-year-old having not coached since parting ways with Guingamp in May 2019.
Gourvennec also previously led Bordeaux from 2016 to 2018.
A list of big names were linked with the vacant Lille post, including Claudio Ranieri, Thiago Motta, Laurent Blanc, Patrick Vieira – who is now manager of Crystal Palace, and Lucien Favre.
Lille said in a club statement that Gourvennec is a head coach "recognised for his hard work, his ambition and his obsession with performance, values shared with LOSC".
The French champions have sold goalkeeper Mike Maignan to Serie A side Milan and midfielder Boubakary Soumare to Premier League outfit Leicester City this off-season.
New Lille boss Gourvennec previously had two stints at Guingamp, helping them to promotion to Ligue 1 and winning the Coupe de France in 2014, but suffered relegation in his second stint in 2019.
LOSC officially announces the appointment of Jocelyn Gourvennec as head coach. pic.twitter.com/0KTIz3FNyw
— LOSC Lille EN (@LOSC_EN) July 5, 2021