THE FOX HUNT
EXCLUSIVE Rodgers the favourite if Leicester axe Puel
BRENDAN RoDgERs has been installed as favourite to replace under-fire Claude Puel at Leicester City.
Despite leading the Foxes to eighth in the English Premier League table, the Frenchman was booed by his own fans after last saturday’s deflating 2-1 defeat to southampton and is struggling to recover ground lost after his team’s ignominious FA Cup exit to minnows Newport County the previous weekend.
The club’s league position means Leicester are under no pressure to act immediately and could allow Puel to limp along until the end of the season before making a change.
But a flurry of bets in recent days have seen Rodgers emerge as the bookies’ frontrunner to replace him.
The Celtic boss remains focused on delivering an eighth straight Premiership title for the Parkhead club and adding to new signings oliver Burke, Timothy Weah and
Vakoun Issouf Bayo before the end of the month. However, Leicester considered a move for the Northern Irishman before Puel clung to his job last summer. The death of club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash last October set the manager’s future to one side. But Foxes chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who assumed responsibility at the King Power Stadium following the tragic loss of his father, will now make the call over a potential change. Newcastle United’s Rafa Benitez and former Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner, who only departed his post this week, have also been heavily quoted for the job. Rodgers, who has also been linked with the Newcastle manager’s job should Benitez leave the club, was the subject of interest from China last summer. Under contract at Celtic until 2021, however, the former Liverpool and Swansea City boss reiterated his commitment to the Parkhead club when those reports first became public. He said at the time: ‘With China, it’s big money but I’ve found happiness here. ‘I spoke with the owners and the board and we found an agreement and moved on. ‘I’ve had other opportunities, but I’m very much here. ‘Unless the club get fed up with me or something else happens, I’m very privileged to be here.’