Puel has ´no idea´ about Southampton takeover talk

Southampton manager Claude Puel has “no idea” about reports Chinese group Lander Sports Development are in talks over a takeover of the Premier League club.

A £200million offer is reportedly on the table, but Puel, speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League tie with Inter, insisted he has not been informed of any developments.

“I am sorry but I finished the training session and I have no idea on this subject,” he told reporters.

“I give all my confidence of course with the president, with all the people in the club to work very well and to do the things in a good way and the right way. 

“I am staying concentrated on the game of tomorrow. 

“After this, the other things we will have time to discuss and to speak with this for the future. I think this is not the moment for us, for me, to speak about this.

“We will see this with the chairman and he is a good man to answer this subject. I say I have no problem of course and I have all my confidence with the chairman and the future of the club.”

Puel confirmed Republic of Ireland international Shane Long will miss the Inter game as a result of a hamstring problem the striker suffered at San Siro two weeks ago.

“Still injured are Long, [Matt] Targett, [Alex] McCarthy, [Jake] Hesketh and [Harrison] Reed now,” said Puel. “Jeremy Pied, of course, is also injured.

“For the moment, many players are out, but it’s important to continue this good work.”

The Frenchman also expressed sympathy for Frank de Boer, who was sacked as Inter’s coach on Tuesday, with youth team coach Stefano Vecchi set to take charge for the Europa League game at St Mary’s.

“It’s always a shame for a coach to lose his job,” said Puel. “Now we have to show more concentration tomorrow night.

“Of course it’s difficult for us to prepare for this game because we don’t know what to expect [from Inter] in terms of the profile, the spirit, the system of play.

“We’re sure that they have great players, they won the first game while struggling and that’s the quality of the players they have.

“For qualification you usually need around 10 points and we have six points from three games, we have two games at home and one away. It’s very important to win at home.”