Leicester City parted ways with Brendan Rodgers after four years in charge on Sunday and now the race to be the next Foxes boss will heat up.
A poor run of form cost Rodgers his job and the 2-1 defeat to fellow relegation battlers Crystal Palace on Saturday was the final straw, as the 2021 FA Cup winners slipped into the Premier League’s bottom three.
The Northern Irishman’s impressive record during his time at the King Power Stadium – which included an FA Cup, Community Shield, two top-five Premier League finishes and a first-ever European semi-final – couldn’t save him in the face of a drop into the Championship and the new boss’s main priority will be top-flight survival.
The likes of Brentford coach Thomas Frank, Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou, ex-Leeds man Marcelo Bielsa, veteran Rafa Benitez and former Spurs and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino are all in the frame to take the role.
Here is a look at the contenders and the latest odds as to who will be named the next Leicester boss:
Leicester City next manager odds (provided by Betfair):
- Graham Potter - Evens
- Rafa Benitez 10/3
- Thomas Frank 11/2
- Jon Dahl Tomasson 15/2
- Marcelo Bielsa 10/1
- Mauricio Pochettino 10/1
- Ralph Hasenhuttl 10/1
- Ange Postecoglou 10/1
- Adam Sadler 10/1
- Kasper Hjulmand 14/1
- Ruud Van Nistelrooy 14/1
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 16/1
- Daniel Farke 16/1
- Scott Parker 16/1
- Neil Lennon 16/1
- Dean Smith - 20/1
- Steve Cooper - 20/1
- Chris Powell - 20/1
- BAR - 25/1
A look at the contenders:
Graham Potter
Sacked by Chelsea mere hours after Rodgers left Leicester, Potter was immediately installed as a big favourite to jump back into management at the King Power.
His time at Stamford Bridge can hardly be classified as a success, given the record money spent, only for Chelsea to be languishing 11th in the table, but Potter did guide them to the Champions League quarter-finals and, more pertinently, did a stellar job at Brighton to earn the gig in the first place. Slightly out of the spotlight, the Englishman could thrive
Mauricio Pochettino
Pochettino gained extensive Premier League experience at Southampton and Tottenham and is still available after leaving PSG last summer. Attracting the Argentinian would be a real coup and no doubt excite City supporters.
Yet, following a stint managing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and with his stock still high, he may well prefer to hold on for a so-called bigger club and has been linked with a return to managerless Spurs this summer.
Marcelo Bielsa
Bielsa would undoubtedly provide entertainment given his attacking philosophy and relentless style of play.
The 67-year-old is still revered by Leeds fans for his successful spell in West Yorkshire. But Bielsa has already turned down the Everton job this season, preferring to take over a club in the summer, so would be highly unlikely to sign up for the relegation run-in.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
The Austrian was sacked by fellow strugglers Southampton earlier this season, but could prove to be a strong candidate for the job.
His high-pressing style of play should be good fit with the squad at the King Power Stadium, but his Southampton side leaked goals, which has been a problem for the Foxes this season.
Rafael Benitez
Champions League winner Benitez is still seeking a new opportunity after he was sacked by Everton in January 2022. Following successful spells with Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle earlier in his career, the Spaniard may be seen as a safe pair of hands who could get the best out of the Foxes’ underperforming players.
He stayed with Newcastle after he failed to keep them in the Premier League in 2016 and led them straight back to the top tier.
Dean Smith
Dean Smith was linked with the job earlier in the season and he is now out of work having been sacked by Norwich. Smith previously did a solid job at boyhood club Aston Villa before being sacked in a decision that divided their fans.
But he suffered relegation with Norwich last season and was sacked in December as the Canaries slipped off the pace in the play-off race.
Additional reporting by PA
