Christophe Galtier has come to an agreement in principle to become Lille's new head coach, the Ligue 1 club have confirmed.

Galtier, who played for Lille from 1987 to 1990, left Saint-Etienne at the end of last season after eight years in charge at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

His next assignment will be to drag Lille away from the relegation zone after a difficult start to 2017-18 under Marcelo Bielsa, the club only claiming 19 points from as many games.

The 51-year-old will put pen to paper on December 29, with his first game in charge against Le Mans in the Coupe de France early in January.

"I am very happy to join Lille," Galtier told the club's official website.

"Although I am aware of the situation and the task ahead of us, I was quickly convinced by the words of [sporting director] Luis Campos on the viability and seriousness of the project undertaken by [chairman] Gerard Lopez and his team. 

"I had different proposals since my departure from Saint-Etienne but I was looking for a project on which I could settle with important objectives like Lille."