English Premier League: Brendan Rodgers emerges as favourite for Leicester

Managerless Leicester City host Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday night. First Team Coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler will prepare the Foxes for the game, they are without a win in six games in all competitions.

Claude Puel’s sacking was on the cards, a defeat to Newport County in the FA Cup was unacceptable. Puel struggled to adapt to the English game. The Frenchman had a year in charge at Southampton. Despite taking the Saints to the League Cup final, he was criticised for his defensive style of play. Several names have been linked with the vacant role, but Brendan Rodgers emerges as the favourite to become the new Leicester head coach.

Leicester‘s blistering attacking style of play earned them plenty of respect when they surprised the football world in 2016 by winning the Premier League title. The Foxes regressed under Puel‘s leadership, or lack of it, and the City board saw fit to find a new head coach. Club legend Gary Lineker summed up the mood in the Leicester camp.

Rodgers emerges as favourite for Leicester

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers emerges as the 6/4 favourite for the Leicester City role. The former Liverpool manager guided Celtic to a Scottish domestic treble in consecutive seasons. Celtic’s European quest has not gone to plan. A return to the Premier League with Leicester could be a tempting prospect for the 46-year-old.

Previous Premier League Experience

The Anfield board appointed Rodgers on 01 June 2012. It was in the 2013-14 season when Rodgers took the league by surprise. A run of 11 unbeaten games took Manchester City to the wire. Liverpool were blessed with the brilliance of Luis Suarez, but Manuel Pellegrini’s side did enough to secure their second title in three seasons. It was a campaign argued by many as the greatest in Premier League history. The league’s lead changed hands 25 times throughout the season, while the title, European places and relegation spots were all to play for going into the penultimate week of the campaign (via premierleague.com). Jurgen Klopp eventually replaced Rodgers in the Liverpool dugout.

https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1099381630471454720

Also In The Running

Former Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner has emerged as the second favourite to take over from Puel, with odds of 9/2. Wagner achieved promotion to the Premier League with the Terriers. The 47-year-old left the club by mutual consent. Huddersfield played attractive football under the German coach. Wagner would enjoy a much stronger squad at Leicester, his lack of Premier League experience could be regarded as a disadvantage.

Rafa Benitez has been there and done it. The Spaniard is having a frustrating time at St James’ Park. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been reluctant to offer Benitez the resources needed to bolster Newcastle’s chances of Premier League survival. Benitez has won several trophies, including the Champions League with Liverpool and the Spanish Championship with Real Madrid.

At 58, the experienced manager might think about retirement, his contract expires in the Summer. Could Leicester provide him with one last opportunity to win silverware? The bookies have given Benitez odds of 8/1 to succeed Puel.

Leicester City raised their own expectations by winning the league title in 2015/16. The club demands competitive representation in The Top Flight, will they get it with their new head coach?

*Odds correct at the time of writing via oddschecker.com