Claude Puel is under an avalanche of pressure following Leicester City’s humbling against League Two side Newport County, who dumped Puel's Premier League outfit out of the FA Cup on Sunday, much to the despair of Foxes fans.
The beleaguered boss is now in severe danger of the axe, with bookmakers cutting his odds from 7/2 to a slim 13/8 in the Premier League Sack Race, ahead of the likes of Rafa Benitez, David Wagner, and Neil Warnock.
Patience is wearing thin at the King Power Stadium, and rumours are rife that the club could well enforce a managerial change in the upcoming weeks.
We take a look at four of the names pottering around in the next Leicester City manager market.
Rafa Benitez
The favourite in the betting is Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez, who can be backed at 7/2 to switch Premier League dugouts. There’s a one-year contract extension on the table at the Toon, but the Spaniard is hesitant to put pen to paper given the club’s takeover uncertainty.
Leicester could use Benitez’s contract tentativeness to their own advantage by attempting to lure him over to the East Midlands. Whether the 58-year-old would suddenly switch jobs at this crunch time of the season is open to debate, although Newcastle’s precarious position in the table could swing his decision.
Sam Allardyce
The marmite manager is still surprisingly out-of-work, having left Everton at the end of last season. Since then Big Sam has inevitably been linked with a multitude of clubs, but for whatever reason has yet to return to the chaotic world of football management, while he’s currently filling his spare time by winding up nemesis Marco Silva.
The former England gaffer would undoubtedly leap at the chance to manage 7th-placed Leicester, and he can currently be backed at 7/1 in the betting. But, he’s unlikely to be the first choice for many fans, and in truth an appointment appears remote.
Nigel Pearson
Could a familiar face waltz back to Leicester in the near future?
Nigel Pearson famously set the foundations for the club’s miraculous surge to the Premier League title, and has since had an unforgettable stint at the helm of Derby, while he’s been overseeing Belgian side OH Leuven since since September 2017.
Pearson is now a 20/1 shot to make a remarkable return to his old stomping ground, in a move that would likely just be through to the end of the season.
Louis Van Gaal
The likes of Brendan Rodgers, Martin O’Neill, and David Moyes also feature in the manager market, but Louis Van Gaal catches the eye at a fruity 25/1. While his football failed to thrill, the Premier League is unquestionably a poorer place without the Dutchman’s unique personality, meaning his presence would be most welcome, for journalists at least.
The former Man Utd manager, who has backed Liverpool to win the title, has frequently flirted with a return to the Premier League return and his availability means he could be in with an outside chance of bagging the job.
