David Wagner also among the candidates for King Power job
Monday 25 February 2019 08:54, UK
Leicester are looking for their fourth permanent manager in the last 24 months after sacking Claude Puel following the 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace - but who will it be?
The Frenchman lasted just 16 months at the King Power Stadium, and leaves the Foxes 12th in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone.
First-team coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler have been placed in temporary charge and they could remain at the helm for the visit of Brighton in midweek.
But who will take the reins thereafter? We look at which managers are the favourites with Sky Bet....
The former Liverpool boss has continually been linked with a return to the Premier League, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea being credited with an interest before appointing Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri respectively.
Rodgers famously took the Reds to the brink of the title before falling just short in 2014, but his attacking style of play has attracted a huge array of plaudits, as it did during his previous role at Swansea.
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.
His style of football would certainly be welcomed by Foxes fans, who have been ultra-critical of Puel's approach during his spell at the King Power. Rodgers would ultimately want another crack at a top-four club, and a strong showing with Leicester would help, while there are plenty of exciting young players for him to work with.
The former Huddersfield Town man performed wonders to get the club into the Premier League, and then miracles to keep them there for a season at least before his exit earlier this campaign.
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.
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 11th hour, so he's obviously keen to get back into the hotseat at some point - and even if the job was offered on an interim basis it 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.
The former Leicester 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 but had previously tasted life as a big-club manager after spending four years at Celtic.
Leicester could try the Manchester United trick of bringing a club legend back as manager to try and get a response from players - even if it's just until the end of the season.
Alternatively, of course, Lennon could be eyeing a return to Celtic if Rodgers is being lined up as the next Leicester boss.
Benitez continues to impress under difficult circumstances at Newcastle United, but could a move to a more settled and established Premier League club, apparently with more spending power, appeal?
Much will depend on the sale of Newcastle 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 at St James' Park would raise his stock even higher.
Benitez knows all about Premier League football, 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.
Surely not!? But Pearson is shorter in the betting market than the likes of veteran duo 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 and kept them up for one season before they went on to win the title under his successor Claudio Ranieri, 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.
