Five candidates for Leicester job
Leicester have started their search for a successor to Claudio Ranieri, who was brutally sacked as manager of the Premier League champions on Thursday.
Here are five potential candidates to take charge of the relegation-threatened club:
ROBERTO MANCINI
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. The Italian 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 given his lack of experience with struggling teams.
DAVID WAGNER
The Huddersfield boss has earned many plaudits for the work he has done at the Terriers having turned them into realistic promotion contenders in the Championship. The German took over in November 2015 when Huddersfield were 18th in the Championship and has slowly rebuilt them with limited finances. Wagner is a close friend of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and would demand the time to make his mark on the squad at the King Power Stadium.
ROY HODGSON
The former England manager is keen on a return to the dug out and could be the man to guide Leicester out of relegation trouble. He helped Fulham to survival in 2008 when they looked dead and buried although, at 69, is four years older than Ranieri and the club may look for a more youthful approach going forward. Saving Leicester would help restore his reputation, which was tarnished by England's wretched form at the 2014 World Cup and their embarrassing Euro 2016 exit against minnows Iceland.
FRANK DE BOER
Ranieri was plucked out of the blue to replace Nigel Pearson in 2015 and De Boer is another outsider who is available. The Dutchman was sacked in November after just 85 days in charge at Inter Milan. He won four league titles in his six years at Ajax and was also Holland's assistant manager. He has been linked recently with Glasgow giants Rangers.
NIGEL PEARSON
The 53-year-old has already had two spells at Leicester and is reported to be favoured by some Foxes players for another return to the club. He was dismissed in June 2015 having guided Leicester to a relegation escape by winning seven of their last nine games to beat the drop having looked certain to go down.
However, 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 2015 tour. 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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