Next Leicester City Manager Odds

After Brendan Rodgers’ exit from the King Power, Rafa Benitez has emerged as the favourite to take over the reins at the East Midlands outfit. The former Newcastle boss has been out of work since leaving Everton over a year ago, with reports suggesting that the Leicester hierarchy are looking to bring the Spaniard in.

Despite his last role at the Toffees turning out to be a pretty sour affair, Benitez still has a good track record – especially in terms of Premier League experience. The former RealMadrid manager had his best spell in charge of Liverpool, guiding the Merseyside outfit to that famous Champions League win in Istanbul in 2005, as well doing a decent job as ‘interim’ boss of Chelsea in 2012/13 when he guided the Blues to Europa League glory.Benitez also enjoyed a good run with Newcastle, guiding the Magpies to the Championship title at their first attempt, as well as cementing their Premier League status before a falling out with then-owner Mike Ashley.

It's been said that Benitez has turned down multiple proposals since his Everton dismissal inJanuary 2022, stating that he wanted to wait for the right opportunity. Despite a poorseason so far, the Foxes still have a lot of quality in their squad that Benitez may feel hecould get the best out of.

Graham Potter has quickly become one of the names linked with taking over at Leicester, following his sacking at Chelsea just hours before Rodgers left the club.

The former Ostersund and Swansea manager did an impressive job at Brighton, building a team that would go on to record the Seagulls’ best-ever Premier League points tally last season. When Potter was announced as the new Chelsea boss early this season, it initially looked a shrewd acquisition from the London side.

Potter and Chelsea ultimately didn’t work out though, but there were many contributing factors as to why Potter couldn’t get his team playing. The raft of endless transfers to an already big squad must have been tough on Potter, who never really managed to find his best XI in a roster full of international stars. There were also reports of players disrespecting the manager and not being on board with his plans, with it all culminating in poor performances on the pitch.

A new project where he has the chance to work and build up his own team, getting them playing his way, could be just what Graham Potter and Leicester need.

Ralph Hassenhutl is another coach that has been linked with numerous openings since hislast job, but the Austrian is still yet to find a new club. Hasenhutl was dismissed asSouthampton boss in November after just under four years in charge at St Mary’s.

The man once dubbed as the ‘Austrian Klopp’ because of the gegenpressing style he likes his teams to adopt, Hasenhuttl looked an interesting appointment after guiding RB Leipzig to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga and looked to be a good signing early into his time on the south coast. Southampton were in trouble at the bottom of the table when the formerFC Ingolstadt boss took charge, with Hassenhutl guiding the Saints to safety. He followed that up by achieving Southampton’s best Premier League finish for three seasons with an 11th -place finish, then recorded back-to-back 15th position finishes before he lost his job earlier this season after a poor run of form in the league. You can’t exactly say that theSaints have managed much better since Hassenhutl’s departure, though.

The Austrian has had plenty of time out to plot his next move and learn from his mistakes.His experience in guiding Southampton to safety could be of use for Leicester this season.

After snapping up a manager who has impressed when guiding Celtic to silverware, Leicester could choose to go down that route again and turn to Ange Postecoglou to turn their fortunes around. Like Rodgers, Celtic boss Postecoglou has been linked with various roles in the Premier League after doing a brilliant job in Scotland.

The Australian coach has enjoyed success down under, guiding Brisbane Roar to two A-league Championship titles and one A-League Premiership, before guiding the AustralianNational Team to the 2015 Asian Cup. Postecoglou even won a J1 league title withYokohama Marinos in Japan, before arriving in Glasgow in 2021. Since then, Postecoglou has put Celtic back on top after arriving during a time of Rangers dominance and is on course to win his second SPFL title in his second season at the club.

Along with an impressive CV which involves lifting titles in three different countries, the football that Postecogou’s teams play has also been praised for his attack-minded ,relentless pressing style. The Leicester job would provide a completely different challenge for the man that many Celtic supporters where dubious of before his arrival, but he has shown he can adapt and can prove those doubters wrong.

As the Foxes sit two points from safety at the bottom end of the table, they may call on a familiar face in their time of need.

Nigel Pearson was arguably one of the underrated figures in Leicester’s incredible title winning season in 2016, due to his tenure as predecessor to Claudio Ranieri. Pearson guided Leicester to the Championship title and brought in the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drink water, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth, and Jamie Vardy across his four years in charge –helping build that historic team that went all the way under Ranieri. Pearson also helpedLeicester pull off a great escape in 2015, preserving their Premier League status with an amazing run towards the end of the season which kept them in the division. Pearson’sLeicester career was ended though after an off-field controversy involving his son and some other Leicester players tarnished the relationship between Pearson and Leicester’s Thai owners, with Ranieri coming in to replace him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since his Leicester departure, Pearson has had some short spells at Derby and Belgian sideOH Leuven, as well as a brief period at Watford. At the Hornets, he managed a 3-0 win overLiverpool to end their 45-game unbeaten run, closing the gap to safety as the Hertfordshire side struggled to avoid the Premier League drop but was harshly let go before he could seethe season out. He’s since been at Bristol City, with the Robins going steady in the Championship as Pearson steers them clear of relegation troubles.

Another manager that has had time to reassess, go over his mistakes, and wait for the right opening is Steven Gerrard, who is still looking for a new role after being sacked as AstonVilla boss. The former Rangers boss is one of those being rumoured to replace the ex-Celtic boss Rodgers, following the Northern Irishman’s dismissal.

Gerrard lasted 11 months in charge at Villa Park, before being sacked earlier this season following a run of two wins in their opening 12 league games. There was plenty of optimism from the Villa fans ahead of Gerrard’s arrival after the Liverpool legend guided Rangers to an SPFL title and put them back at the summit of Scottish football, as well as performing well with The Gers in Europe.

Still learning and relatively new as a coach, Gerrard will be hopeful that his Villa sacking can be used as a learning curve and vital experience going forward. Saving Leicester from the drop and getting the Foxes back to what they’re capable of could be one way for Gerrard to kick start his management career.

One of the few managers on this list that lack in Premier League experience, it would bequite a risk for Leicester to prize Jon Dahl Tomasson from Blackburn Rovers. The formerNewcastle, Milan, Villareal, and Feyenoord striker only began as Blackburn boss in the summer following spells in the Netherlands, as well as winning the Swedish league title withMalmo.

The Danish coach has improved Blackburn since his arrival, but there is still plenty to work on in his first season at Ewood Park. Rovers are on course to finish slightly higher in the Championship table than last season under Tony Mowbray, with the play-offs still in sight, but have lost more games than any other side in the top half, drawn less games than any other team in the division, and have a goal difference of 0. It could also be a huge gamble for Dahl Tomasson to abandon the long-term Blackburn project, in favour of a relegation scrap in the Premier League that could end badly.

The 46-year-old also doesn’t have the best record in terms of saving clubs from the drop. Tomasson took over as Roda JC manager in 2014 but was unable to prevent the Netherlands outfit falling out of the Eredivisie following 12 defeats in 17 league games.