After weeks of pressure and speculation, Claude Puel’s time at Leicester City finally came to an end at the weekend in the aftermath of their heavy 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
It was the Foxes’ seventh defeat in nine games and their fourth straight loss at the King Power Stadium, form which has seen the team slide down to 12th in the Premier League table ahead of tonight’s clash with Brighton.
In many ways Puel’s time at Leicester has ended in much the same way as his spell with Southampton, with supporters growing restless and ultimately bored of his team’s style of football. Leicester have scored just twice in their last four home games, despite having a number of quality attacking players in their side.
The Frenchman has overseen what has been one of the most difficult seasons in the club’s history following the death of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and acted with class and dignity in the aftermath of the helicopter crash.
However, results on the pitch haven’t been good enough in recent times and it felt like only a matter of time before Puel would be relieved of his duties.Celtic have given Brendan Rodgers permission to speak to Leicester about succeeding Puel at the King Power Stadium, despite the Scottish side being on course to win 10 straight league titles.
The timing of Rodgers’ decision to potentially leave mid-season has come as a real shock to many Celtic fans, many of whom are surprised at the fact he would swap Celtic for Leicester. The lure of the Premier League has proven to be too strong for the former Liverpool boss, who has been rebuilding his reputation north of the border.