As they are ready to return to the Premier League, Leicester City is searching for a new manager. A number of names have been mentioned; here are the front-runners and riders.
A manager hunt was arguably the last thing on Leicester City’s mind a few weeks ago, as they celebrated their Championship title victory at Preston North End.
Sure, Enzo Maresca had his complaints over the club’s hiring practices and his misgivings on potential transfers during the summer transfer window, but there didn’t seem to be much evidence to support a breakup.
But that’s precisely what happened on Monday when the Italian was revealed as the new man occupying the division’s most desirable managerial position. Drawn in by the bright lights of London, the Italian seems unfazed by Chelsea’s own Profitability & Sustainability Rules worries.
As a result, the Foxes had to complete their PSR calculations in addition to searching for a new player to build a side that could compete in the Premier League despite any internal or external limitations imposed in the upcoming months.
The dream candidate – Graham Potter
The natural sense of irony in football may force City to appoint a man who was previously employed by Chelsea to succeed their outgoing manager.
The 49-year-old has been waiting it out since Todd Boehly broke up with him in April 2023. The former Brighton manager has been linked to numerous openings, but none of them have enticed him to return to the dugout.
Potter is reportedly holding out for one of the big roles, such as Manchester United or England, which would make a transfer to the King Power extremely difficult.
But the synergy appears to be obvious. With a team that is playing possession-based football, which is how Potter built his name with the Seagulls and Swansea, Potter can rebuild his reputation in the Premier League. With his background and reputation, it would be easy to portray the switch from Maresca to Potter as an improvement rather than a hassle.
The dream candidate – Graham Potter
The natural sense of irony in football may force City to appoint a man who was previously employed by Chelsea to succeed their outgoing manager.
The 49-year-old has been waiting it out since Todd Boehly broke up with him in April 2023. The former Brighton manager has been linked to numerous openings, but none of them have enticed him to return to the dugout.
Potter is reportedly holding out for one of the big roles, such as Manchester United or England, which would make a transfer to the King Power extremely difficult.
But the synergy appears to be obvious. With a team that is playing possession-based football, which is how Potter built his name with the Seagulls and Swansea, Potter can rebuild his reputation in the Premier League. With his background and reputation, it would be easy to portray the switch from Maresca to Potter as an improvement rather than a hassle.
Sneaky good candidate – Carlos Corberan
Few City supporters would argue against the idea that Corberan’s West Brom presented their squad with the most challenging home game of any Championship team the previous campaign. Without Hamza Choudhury’s heroics on the goal line, Maresca’s team would not have prevailed.
That was a peek at one of the division’s best-organized teams, one that has been built by Corberan’s obsessive, nearly obsessive attention to detail—a quality he has consistently displayed as a coach.
Corberan’s skill as a tactician and man-manager more than compensates for his lack of celebrity, as evidenced by the fact that he not only led Steve Bruce’s team to a top six finish in 2022–2023 but also managed to get striker-less Albion into the play-offs this season.
In 2021–2022, he led Huddersfield to the play-off final as well. However, they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest due to controversial refereeing calls. His initial rise to prominence in this nation occurred when he was a member of Marcelo Bielsa’s backroom crew at the daring Leeds United.
Potential romantic partner: Nigel Pearson
Pearson, who had two stints in charge at the King Power, is widely credited with building the groundwork for Claudio Ranieri’s championship-winning Leicester City team and leading the team to their incredible escape in 2014-15. He returned to repeat the achievement in 2014 after leading the Foxes to the 2009 Championship championship in his debut. Then, in what was maybe his greatest achievement to date, he helped the team finish in 14th position at Christmas 2014.
Since leaving Bristol City in October of last year, he has not been involved in the game. To further enhance the narrative, how about including Andy King and Esteban Cambiasso in his backroom staff?
Everything adds up candidate – Oscar Garcia
The former Brighton manager is currently employed by Leicester’s sister team, OH Leuven, thus in light of PSR worries, he would be an inexpensive choice.
The 51-year-old has been speaking with Jon Rudkin, director of football, on a daily basis for a few months now and has expressed that managing in England once more would be his goal. Having managed Watford, Maccabi Tel Aviv, RB Salzburg, Saint-Etienne, Olympiacos, Celta, and Reims, he is somewhat of a journeyman coach.
The gamble – Ruud Van Nistelrooy
The former striker for Manchester United is just beginning his managerial career.What a fantastic start it has also been.
Van Nistelrooy’s PSV team lost to new Liverpool manager Arne Slot’s Feyenoord team in the Eredivisie during his one season in command (2022–2023), but they did win the Dutch Cup, defeating Ajax on penalties in the championship game. They led the league in attack as well. The Dutchman recently stated that he would like to be a Premier League or Spain coach. Although he has a strong stock, he lacks experience. The former striker might not be selected since King Power has never picked a manager who did not at least have some coaching experience in England.
The favourite – Steve Cooper
The former Nottingham Forest player is the clear favourite to land the position, according to the bookies. Cooper excelled in the England youth ranks, made an impact at Swansea, and led a Forest team out of the Championship relegation zone and into the play-offs and Premier League.
Additionally, during his club’s incredible transfer window, he acquired enough talent to assemble a team capable of competing in the top division. That’s the gist of the King Power brief. Although it would not be an enticing appointment, it would be secure.
Read more at: https://sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply