The five favourites to succeed Brendan Rodgers at Leicester
The Northern Irishman was sacked on Sunday after the Foxes threw away the lead at Crystal Palace to lose 2-1, leaving them 19th at the end of the weekend.
The Sunday sackings of Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter represented the first time since October 2015 that two Premier League managers had departed their posts on the same day.
On that occasion, it was Dick Advocaat and coincidentally Rodgers who left their respective positions at Sunderland and Liverpool.
Now the search is on at both Chelsea and Leicester to find a successor. Who are the names in the frame? Here is a rundown of the bookies’ favourites for the Foxes job.
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Graham Potter (5/6)*
After finding success hard to come by at Chelsea, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Potter has been strongly linked to replace Rodgers at the King Power Stadium.
The Leicester role feels a far more natural fit than the one at Stamford Bridge after the success Potter enjoyed at Brighton, stabilising them in the Premier League before kicking on with a ninth-placed finish last season and continuing that upward trajectory earlier this term before jumping ship to west London.
If Leicester are looking for a steady rebuild from the summer onwards, he would appear to be the man for the job, but the Englishman is an unknown quantity when it comes to arriving at a club late in a campaign to stave off relegation.
That said, Potter demonstrated during his three-year spell at the Amex that he can solidify a leaky defence – a problem for the Foxes this season – and could realistically get the East Midlanders back into the top 10 with some backing, although whether that investment is forthcoming remains to be seen after increased financial losses announced last month.
The black mark against his name when it comes to his managerial record in English football is that his teams – for all their attractive football – have struggled to score goals. With Jamie Vardy seemingly fizzling out and both Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka blowing hot and cold, there is a sizeable chance that the former Swansea manager could be left lamenting much more poor finishing.
Rafael Benitez (3/1)
Benitez’s last managerial role with Everton ended in January 2022 after less than seven months, but the Spaniard proved hugely popular across Stanley Park at Liverpool and during his spell at Newcastle.
His time at St. James’ Park is perhaps the most instructive when assessing whether or not he would thrive at Leicester.
After replacing Steve McClaren in March 2016, he failed to arrest a slide towards relegation, despite incredibly gaining 12 points from a possible 18 at the end of the campaign, including a remarkable 5-1 final-day victory over Tottenham, before leading the Magpies back to the promised land the following year by securing top spot in the Championship.
Creditable mid-table finishes then followed despite the arrival of a number of underperforming signings, and although Benitez’s spell at Goodison Park didn’t pull up any trees, the job he did there doesn’t look as bad now given Frank Lampard’s subsequent struggles.
Perhaps surprisingly, Benitez has worked with two of the current Leicester squad in Ryan Bertrand and Ayoze Perez, but there is quite a high likelihood that both players will move on in the summer as their contracts are due to run out at the end of June.
Jon Dahl Tomasson (7/1)
On paper, this seems like a bit of a left-field choice. He is certainly the least experienced of the five candidates on this list, although he is one of only two on this shortlist currently in charge at a UK club, having taken over at Blackburn last summer.
The Lancashire outfit currently sit sixth, although it’s very much been a case of feast or famine when it comes to their home and away form.
In addition, no team in the EFL has drawn fewer games than Rovers this season (four), while they have lost more matches than any other side in the top half of the Championship (15).
In Tomasson’s defence, Blackburn are doing marginally better than they were under Tony Mowbray and are in contention for a return to the Premier League after 11 years away.
The striking legend has a potential decision on his hands about whether to stay at the intriguing project he has started at Ewood Park or plunge himself into a relegation dogfight at Leicester that could, if he takes the latter option, see his new employers swap divisions with his old one.
The fact Tomasson is Danish might help him nurture compatriots Jannik Vestergaard and big-money January signing Victor Kristiansen – having coached the former with the national team – while his title-winning and Champions League experience with Malmo hints that he has ability to take Leicester to greater heights.
However, the only previous time he was tasked with saving a club from relegation ended badly as Roda JC dropped out of the Eredivisie in 2014, resulting in Tomasson being sacked.
Ange Postecoglou (8/1)
Along with Jon Dahl Tomasson, Postecoglou is already in a role on these shores as the Australian looks set to guide Celtic to back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles after Rangers were triumphant two years ago under Steven Gerrard.
While questions may linger about how much Postecoglou has truly been tested in Scotland’s top flight, the 57-year-old has shown himself capable of adapting to new environments, having coached Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos before moving to Glasgow in 2021.
Indeed, Postecoglou guided Marinos to their first top-flight title in 15 years and has previously won silverware with Australia, three of the Socceroos’ age-group sides and A-League outfit Brisbane Roar.
Critics will point out though that Celtic have badly struggled in Europe under the 57-year-old against quality opposition, although given Leicester’s current predicament, a future top-seven finish is some way in the distance.
Postecoglou can however drawn on an extensive list of contacts to bolster the Foxes in the summer, with players often making the journey south of the border to chance their arm in the Premier League, often in cut-price deals, something that will be needed given Leicester’s apparently small transfer kitty.
Ralph Hasenhuttl (11/1)
Hasenhuttl was sacked by Southampton in November after almost four years in charge, having helped steer the Saints away from relegation in the months after succeeding Mark Hughes.
The Austrian was already well versed in turning around struggling clubs’ fortunes however.
In 2011, he took over German outfit VfR Aalen and after preventing them slipping into the country’s fourth tier, guided them to promotion the following season and then secured a ninth-placed finish in 2. Bundesliga.
His achievements were even more impressive at FC Ingolstadt as he masterminded a surge from bottom of the 2. Bundesliga to 10 in his opening campaign, continuing the rapid improvement by sealing promotion to the Bundesliga and then ensuring an 11-placed finish in the top flight.
And, in his last job before taking over at St Mary’s, he took the reins at RB Leipzig, newly promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history, and earned the franchise side a runners-up spot behind Bayern Munich.
Hasenhuttl’s time at Southampton wasn’t quite as successful, and there was a sense when he was eventually sacked that he had outstayed his welcome, with the team growing stagnant after consecutive 15-placed finishes (although he was hamstrung by a small transfer budget towards the end of his tenure).
That said, the relatively young profile of much of Leicester’s midfield would help Hasenhuttl implement his pressing style, while the 55-year-old seems to be well liked by much of the Southampton squad, suggesting that the Foxes could benefit from several quality additions if Ruben Selles’ men fall through the trap door.
Hasenhuttl has also previously worked with Jannik Vestergaard and Ayoze Perez, and while neither man has had an enjoyable time at Leicester recently, their old boss could be the person to get a tune out of them (if he can convince Perez to sign a new contract).
* Odds correct at time of writing
