Next Leicester City manager odds: Brendan Rodgers favourite for Foxes job, Rafa Benitez & David Wagner in frame
We run through the main contenders to replace Claude Puel as Leicester City boss with the Foxes reported to be eyeing an interim appointment until the summer.
Puel was sacked by the Foxes on Sunday after suffering a damaging 4-1 defeat at home against Crystal Palace saw them sit in 12th in the Premier League.
It meant a sixth defeat in seven games for Puel including a humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Newport County, and proved to be the final straw.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers remains favourite but his odds have eased slightly of late, with the talk now being of a caretaker being appointed until Rodgers, Rafa Benitez or Roberto Martinez could be appointed.
Next permanent Leicester manager*
- 11/8 Brendan Rodgers
- 7/2 David Wagner
- 5/1 Rafa Benitez
- 5/1 Mike Stowell
- 8/1 Neil Lennon
- 10/1 Michael Appleton
- 12/1 Nigel Pearson
* Caretaker and interim managers completing at least 10 competitive games will be deemed the permanent manager
WATCH: Who should be next Leicester boss?
Brendan Rodgers
The former Liverpool boss has continually been linked with a return to the Premier League, even with teams like Arsenal and Chelsea being credited with an interest in him before appointing Emery and Sarri respectively.
Rodgers famously took Liverpool to the brink of the title before just falling short, but his style of play attracted a huge array of plaudits, as it did during his previous role at Swansea which earned him his big move to Anfield.
Since then he’s been dominating Scottish football with Celtic but that can only satisfy an ambitious manager for so long, with the Bhoys unable to make any serious in-roads in European football.
The Premier League is where it’s at and Rodgers has shown he can operate at both ends of the table, with Leicester situated somewhere in between Liverpool and Swansea in stature and budget.
His style of football would certainly be welcomed by Foxes fans, who have been ultra-critical of Puel during his spell at the King Power. Rodgers would ultimately want another crack at the top four, and a strong showing with Leicester would help, while there are plenty of exciting young players for him to work with.
David Wagner
The former Huddersfield Town man performed wonders to get the Terriers into the Premier League, and then miracles to keep them there for a season at least, but it became a step too far to try and build on that success.
Huddersfield look destined to go down and Wagner left the club, apparently by mutual consent, after saying it was becoming too much for him and he needed to step away.
Much would depend on whether Wagner felt he was able to dive right back into management in the Premier League – that’s even before Leicester make their minds up on him.
Keeping Huddersfield up was a great achievement, and he’s certainly got the charisma the fans would love, but Leicester is a step up from Huddersfield and the club would likely want someone who’s been up there before.
Michael Appleton
An interesting name in the frame here as Appleton took charge of two victories as Leicester’s caretaker manager before Claude Puel took over as permanent boss.
Appleton was set to become Hibs boss recently until the move fell through at the eleventh hour, so he’s obviously keen to get back into the hot seat at some point – and even an interim basis would give him the opportunity to impress.
An important note is that the ‘next permanent manager’ betting market will be settled on a manager being in charge for 10 games – and there are 11 Premier League games left in the current campaign…
Neil Lennon
The former Leicester City midfielder has recently departed from Hibs so could he be offered the chance to get right back into management?
He left under something of a cloud at Hibs but had previously tasted life as a big-club manager after spending four years at Celtic. Leicester could try the Man Utd trick of bringing a former club legend back as manager to try and get a response from players – even if it’s just until the end of the season.
Lennon, of course, could be eyeing a return to Celtic if Rodgers is being lined up as the next Leicester boss.
Rafa Benitez
Benitez continues to impress under difficult circumstances at Newcastle, but could a move up the Premier League to a more settled and established Premier League club, apparently with more spending power, appeal?
Much will depend on the sale of the club and what he’s being told behind the scenes, and the Spaniard may well decide to sit tight until the end of the season when another year of survival for Newcastle would raise his stock even higher.
Benitez knows all about Premier League football obviously, and while he’s perhaps not a huge upgrade in the charisma stakes from Puel, he’s been there and done it all across Europe and remains a huge name in management.
Nigel Pearson
Surely not!? But Pearson is shorter in the betting market than the likes of traditional firefighters Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp for a remarkable return to the club.
Pearson, of course, got the Foxes into the Premier League in the first place before they went on to win the title, and he’s continually linked with a return whenever the club decide on a change of manager.
He’ll probably always resurface in the future as well when Leicester switch managers, but for now a return seems highly unlikely.
Posted at 1200 GMT on 25/02/19.
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