French club Nice hired Lucien Favre as coach on Monday, replacing Christophe Galtier who is expected to take over at Paris Saint-Germain. “Christophe Galtier is no longer in charge of OGC Nice’s first team,” Nice said in a statement.

Nice said Favre returned after a first spell, from 2016-18, that was “engraved in the history” of the club. Favre’s first season ended with a third-place finish in Ligue 1 and entry into the Champions League qualifying rounds. Nice owner Jim Ratcliffe said in a letter to fans that Favre commanded “respect and admiration” and his preferred style of play fit perfectly with what the club wants.

After two years at Nice, Favre was lured to Borussia Dortmund where his teams twice finished runner-up in the Bundesliga before he was fired 18 months ago. Favre takes over a Nice team that placed fifth last season and will play in the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds in August.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi confirmed last week the Qatari-owned club were in discussions with Galtier about taking over from Mauricio Pochettino. Al-Khelaifi denied the club had been in touch with Zinedine Zidane.

Galtier won the French league title with Lille in 2021 before leaving for Nice, leading the south coast club to fifth place last season.

(Written with inputs from AP/PTI)