Official | Lorient name Olivier Pantaloni as Régis Le Bris’ replacement | OneFootball

FC Lorient have named Olivier Pantaloni as their new manager after parting ways with now-Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris.

Following the club’s relegation to Ligue 2, Lorient had anticipated parting ways with Le Bris and Laurent Koscielny, recently promoted within the structure at Lorient, was charged with finding his replacement. Last week, Sunderland showed an interest in Le Bris. In light of that interest, Les Merlus and Le Bris parted ways by mutual consent, leaving him free to join the Black Cats.

Le Bris was then named as Sunderland’s new manager. It hasn’t taken long for Lorient to find their replacement. Despite interest in former FC Nantes manager Jocelyn Gourvennec, Pantaloni has been appointed. The Frenchman joins Les Merlus after a 10-year stint at fellow Ligue 2 side Ajaccio. In a press release on Sunday, Les Merlus confirmed that Pantaloni had signed a two-year deal with the Breton club.

“I’m going into this season with huge motivation to allow the club and the supporters to get back to Ligue 1 as quickly as possible,” said the new Lorient manager.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle