Leicester have parted company with boss Claudio Ranieri following their 2-1 Champions League defeat at Sevilla on Wednesday — just nine months after he won a shock Premier League title.
Ranieri leaves with the champions just a point above the relegation zone and, here, we look at the possible contenders to replace him at the King Power Stadium.
ROBERTO MANCINI (unattached)
The former Manchester City manager is available after leaving Inter Milan last year. He spent a brief time on loan at the Foxes in 2001, playing five times before leaving to become Fiorentina manager after just a month at their old Filbert Street ground. Former striker Mancini has Premier League pedigree having won the title with Manchester City in dramatic fashion back in 2012, but there would be doubts over his suitability for Leicester’s relegation scrap.
DAVID WAGNER (Huddersfield)
The German has earned many plaudits for the work he has done at the Terriers having turned them into realistic promotion contenders in the Championship. He took over in November 2015 when Huddersfield were 18th in the Championship and has slowly rebuilt them with limited finances — compared to Newcastle, Brighton, Norwich and Aston Villa. Wagner is a builder and would demand the time to make his mark on the squad at the King Power Stadium but the Foxes perhaps need a short-term fix to ensure they survive in the top flight this season.
ROY HODGSON (unattached)
The former England manager is keen on a return to football and could be the man to guide Leicester out of relegation trouble. He helped Fulham survive in 2008 when they looked dead and buried although, at 69, he is four years older than Ranieri and the club may look for a more youthful approach going forward. He will, though, be tarnished by England’s wretched Euro 2016 campaign when they were dumped out by Iceland — and his baffling reaction to why he had to face the media after leaving the job.
FRANK DE BOER (unattached)
Ranieri was plucked out of the blue to replace Nigel Pearson in 2015 and De Boer is another outsider who is available after leaving Inter, although he has been heavily linked with Rangers. The Dutchman was sacked in November after just 85 days in charge at the San Siro and felt he needed more time to make it work in Italy. He won four league titles in his six years at Ajax and was also Netherlands’ assistant manager so has plenty of experience — but none of it coming in England.
NIGEL PEARSON (unattached)
The 53-year-old has already had two spells at the King Power Stadium and a third would be a bigger surprise than Ranieri’s initial appointment. He was dismissed in June 2015 having guided Leicester to their Great Escape by winning seven of their last nine games to beat the drop having looked certain to go down. Pearson’s relationship with the owners broke down after a string of bizarre off-field antics and the sacking of his son James following the emergence of an explicit video in Bangkok during a summer tour in 2015. A 2014 Championship title win added to the 2009 League One crown he won with the club in his first spell between 2008 and 2010 before leaving for Hull.
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