Paddy Power have made Claude Puel, 23/10, the favourite to take over from Nigel Pearson at newly-relegated Watford, with the former Leicester City and Southampton man heading a fairly prestigious list of potential replacements.
Watford ditched Pearson earlier this month despite him dragging the Hornets from no-hopers to the brink of safety. They went on to lose their remaining two games as they were relegated to the Championship.
Puel left Leicester last January having gone six league games without a win, and is currently at charge of French side Saint-Etienne, but he might be tempted to have another crack at English football if Watford come knocking.
Pearson’s sacking suggests Watford chiefs want to go in a different direction and build for the long-run. With that in mind, there are a few younger managers elsewhere in the odds list, including Danny Cowley who was recently ousted by Huddersfield after guiding them to safety in the Championship.
Chris Hughton, who manages to be linked with pretty much any managerial vacancy in the football league, is the next best option after Puel, while Sam Allardyce is fairly high up in the list, because, why not? Both were linked with the post before Pearson took over from Quique Sanchez Flores in December.
You’d be forgiven for not quite recognising the name Zlatko Dalic, but fans of the England national team will shudder as they remember he was the man who guided Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final at the Three Lions’ expense.
If you fancy an outsider, Joao Pedro Sousa has been backed in. He had a brief stint at Watford as an assistant to Marco Silva, and followed him to Everton when Watford inevitably decided he’d had his 6-month stint in the Vicarage Road hotseat.
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