After his ignominious departure from Leicester City in February, Claudio Ranieri did not have long to wait before another club came calling.
The once-maligned "tinkerman" had put an end to his runner-up hoodoo and joined the French Ligue 1 club Nantes in June.
With Monaco among the clubs that Ranieri has previously guided to a second place finish, it would signal his second spell in French football.
Well, despite a fairly inauspicious start to the season - they lost their opening two games to Lille and Marseille - Nantes are on an upward curve.
Having shored up their leaky defence, Ranieri's canaries are unbeaten in 6.
Taking 16 points from an available 18, Nantes currently sit 4th in the table; only 3 points shy of the second-placed Monaco.
Given his recent success with overwhelming underdogs, it has got some people talking.
Great to see Claudio Ranieri doing so well at Nantes. Couldn't do it again could he?
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) October 2, 2017
While Ranieri certainly seems to be taking to life in the west of France, even his success with Leicester may pale in comparison to the challenge that Nantes would face in overtaking Paris St. Germain however.
Having only dropped 2 points from their first 8 games, and boasting a squad that will challenge the European elite in this year's Champions League, PSG have almost certainly turned Ligue 1 into a battle for 2nd at this stage.
Yet, having not finished within the top 3 since winning the league in 2001, Nantes' improvement under Ranieri will be a welcome arrival.
With certain bookies offering odds as conservative as 100/1 on Nantes doing the near-impossible, it is clear that they are not willing to be stung again by the Italian.
