Leicester manager latest: Fabrizio Romano names ‘favourite’ to replace Rodgers as Foxes work towards ‘full agreement’
Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Leicester City’s pursuit of a new manager, as club chiefs continue to discuss the potential appointment of a coach with Premier League experience.
Rodgers’ four-year spell in charge of Leicester ended last weekend, following the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. Rodgers had a good relationship with the Leicester owners after guiding the club to their first ever FA Cup triumph in 2021, but the players were simply not performing under his management.
Graham Potter was immediately linked with the Leicester job. Like Rodgers, he was sacked last weekend as Chelsea finally pulled the trigger.
Appointing Potter would make sense for Leicester after the exceptional time he had at Brighton. However, the Foxes are instead looking at Jesse Marsch.
On Friday, The Athletic’s Leicester writer, Rob Tanner, revealed that the east Midlands outfit are in discussions with Marsch over the vacant hot seat. Leicester believe the former Leeds United boss has what it takes to get the best out of the current crop of players.
Tanner did not state that Marsch is the frontrunner to replace Rodgers. Instead, he pointed out that the American is simply one of several options on Leicester’s list.
Romano has now provided a double update on the situation. He writes that talks are ‘ongoing’ between Leicester and Marsch.
Marsch is described as being ‘one of the favourites’ to take charge, despite his sacking by Leeds earlier in the campaign.
Leicester move closer to Jesse Marsch appointment
Leicester are continuing negotiations today (Saturday) to try and reach a ‘full agreement’.
Romano names two other managers who are under consideration at the King Power. They are former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl and Oscar Garcia, who was most recently in charge of Stade Reims.
Interestingly, all three of Marsch, Hasenhuttl and Garcia have spent time managing a Red Bull-owned club.
In a follow-up tweet, Romano reveals that Marsch is ‘expected’ to become Leicester’s new manager. The deal should be signed in the next 24 hours ‘if all goes to plan’.
Should Leicester bring Marsch in, then it would widely be viewed as a ‘firefighter’ appointment, rather than a long-term solution.
Marsch has experience managing a team in a relegation scrap, having helped Leeds to stay up last season. Leicester officials will be hoping he can do the same again for them.
However, the 49-year-old is not known for instilling free-flowing football in his teams and therefore Leicester’s style would be far different under him than it was under Rodgers.
It seems Leicester are focusing on their Premier League status rather than trying to engineer a successful long-term project. This makes sense as Leicester are sat in 19th place in the table, two points off safety.
Although, in the long run they could end up regretting missing out on Potter. He did fantastic work at Brighton and would know how to get Leicester back into the top six.
