Leicester City has limited their search for Enzo Maresca’s replacement to two managers. Enzo Maresca has left the club in a tough situation after taking the vacant Chelsea job after leading Leicester City to the Championship victory. That decision has left the Foxes without a manager as they prepare for their return to the Premier League, with fans hoping for a quick conclusion so they can look forward to the new era. A number of names have been connected with the position, with Leicester an appealing option despite PSR issues and the club’s unwillingness to spend large sums of money on creating a Premier League-ready side.
Carlos Corberan, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all been discussed, but Football Insider reports that the Leicester leadership has finally chosen its two top choices. Graham Potter is Leicester City’s chosen management option. According to Football Insider sources, Steve Cooper and Graham Potter are Leicester’s top contenders for the vacant manager role. Potter and Cooper are both Premier League coaches, having formerly managed Brighton and Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, respectively.
Both were fired by their previous teams. Potter was freed of managing Todd Boehly’s player stockpile, while Cooper was replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo in December as Forest faced relegation. Cooper does have the drawback of playing for Leicester’s opponents, Forest, and things may rapidly turn sour if the Welshman gets off to a disastrous start.
According to Football Insider, Potter is the slight favourite among the two out-of-work managers. ‘Genius’ Potter needs to be convinced that the Leicester position is right for him. The dilemma Leicester may face is that Potter has stated that he wants to manage England, and if he waits, that position may become available after this summer’s European Championships. However, it is never a good indicator for a manager to be out of work for an extended period of time in an industry where you are easily forgotten.
Potter has been out of work for over a year after being fired by Chelsea in April 2023. During that time, he has rejected down several job offers. The 49-year-old is unlikely to want to extend his football hiatus for much longer, and the opportunity to establish himself once more with a talented Leicester group may be enough to persuade him to join the East Midlands club. Potter’s greatest asset is his tactical versatility, as the former Swansea City boss rarely sticks to a single system. Potter’s ability to develop players both individually and collectively through coaching makes him a very interesting manager, and one anonymous Swansea player told The Athletic in 2020 that Potter is a “genius”.
The athlete went on to say, “Sometimes we’d go into meetings with him and it felt like we were back in school.” I felt as if I was learning something. “The formation; he expects you to be able to change not only from week to week, but also during games. Many players ended up playing in places and formations they had never played in before. “We would go out and pass teams out of the park. It was really a pleasure to play under him.” A fantastic recommendation, it appears Leicester will do everything in their ability to persuade Potter to replace Maresca at the King ability.
