Former St Etienne defender Fousseni Diawara is full of praise for Southampton boss Claude Puel.

Puel is being linked with ASSE as coach Christophe Galtier walks away this summer.

Diawara told Envertetcontretous: "There are a lot of rumours. But first of all, one must congratulate his work. He has re-branded ASSE by qualifying the team four times in a row in the European Cup. No one imagined that when he arrived. We must congratulate him and the public was not mistaken giving him a standing ovation in the last game, I was present.

"Rumours? We must not be mistaken. We talk about Claude Puel, who knows the French championship well, is someone who knows the operation of Ligue 1, the players, the environment, the stadiums. He also loves young people.

"We need to focus. The directors, those who take care of it, will take time to think about the matter."