Nice ‘frustrated’ with keeper Kasper Schmeichel after his entourage ‘went above manager Lucien Favre and asked owner Jim Ratcliffe to start first game of the season’ with concerns over his ‘punctuality and fitness’
- Kasper Schmeichel joined Nice in the summer after 11 years at Leicester
- His entourage reportedly asked the club’s owners for him to start the first game
- The request was not adhered by Lucien Favre who went with Marcin Bulka
- Their have also been further concerns over his punctuality and fitness
Nice have suffered a poor start to the season, and reports in France have suggested that former Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel is part of the problem.
The Danish international joined the Ligue 1 side in the summer after 11 years at the Foxes – a key part in their 2015-16 Premier League title winning campaign.
RMC Sport though have reported that his start to life in France has not gone well, with frustrations over the 35-year-old beginning before his first game.
Kasper Schmeichel has been blamed for being a factor for Nice’s poor start to the season with concerns over the former Leicester keeper’s ‘punctuality and fitness’
It’s claimed that Schmeichel’s entourage went above manager Lucien Favre by asking INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe, who control the club, for the keeper to start the first game of the season against Toulouse.
It appeared to be a request that Favre did not stick to, as the Swiss coach instead opted for Polish shot-stopper Marcin Bulka, who has also joined the club on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
The report adds that Schmeichel is not adhering to squad rules, such as meeting times or club-mandated rest days.
His entourage is said to have asked owner Jim Ratcliffe for him to start the first game of the season
Lucien Favre though left Schmeichel on the bench for their first game against Toulouse, before he played the next six matches and was dropped again for their recent defeat to Angers
While the veteran keeper also reportedly arrived this summer with a ‘very high’ body fat percentage.
After missing the first game against Toulouse, he started the next six games – a run of matches in which Nice won two games.
He was then dropped by Favre for the 1-0 defeat to Angers in a match which Bulka came back into the team.
Schmeichel and Aaron Ramsey (second right) were among a number of former Premier League players to join the French side – with Favre said to be unhappy about his signings
Favre’s (pictured) position as manager is at risk with Mauricio Pochettino linked for the role
Favre who only joined the club in the summer, now sees his job at risk, with former Tottenham and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino a strong contender to take the role.
As reported by Sportsmail, Favre was unhappy that an assembly of Premier League cast-offs were signed over the summer by the French side.
As well as Schmeichel, Ross Barkley and Aaron Ramsey were signed on free transfers, while Nicolas Pepe, Mads Bech Sorensen and Joe Bryan were signed on loan from Arsenal, Brentford and Fulham respectively.
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