Rafa Benitez is the favourite to replace Brendan Rodgers at Leicester, following the Northern Irishman’s departure from the club.
Following a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers has departed his role as Leicester City manager by mutual consent. Rodgers had been in charge of the Foxes since February 2019, but with his side winless in their last six Premier League games and sitting in the relegation zone, the Northern Irishman has been relieved of his duties. He becomes the 11th Premier League manager to depart their role, the most since the competition began back in 1992.
Who are the favourites to become the next Leicester manager?
Rafa Benitez
With every Premier League role that becomes available, Rafa Benitez’s name comes out of the hat, and at a best price of 7/2, Benitez is the favourite to join the Foxes. Benitez has been out of a job since being sacked by Everton in January 2022, after a poor run of form.
He might be a suitable pick for the Foxes if they do go down, as he has taken Newcastle back up after a single season in the Championship, but he will need to bring the best out of players such as James Maddison if they want to avoid the drop and push on from next season.
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Thomas Frank
The current Brentford boss is the second favourite at 11/2 to take over from Rodgers. His Brentford side have been impressive this season and are staking a claim to a European spot by the end of the season. They sit just six points off a Champions League spot, but are performing well above expectations this season. They have had some impressive results this year, such as beating Manchester United 4-0 and winning away at the Etihad.
With the Bees on a roll this season, Frank may be reluctant to leave a team doing so well this season for a team who are amidst a real relegation battle.
Ange Postecoglou
Behind Frank, the current Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is another favourite to become the next Leicester manager at 6/1. Celtic look set to win their second league title under Postecoglou and have been impressive. Most notably, he has been able to bring slightly unknown players from Asia to Scotland and have made big successes from them.
Leicester would likely be operating on a tight budget, which has been the case this season with a lack of signings in both transfer windows, and Postecoglou could be a suitable fit to help Leicester return to the upper ends of the Premier League table, where they have narrowly missed out on Champions League places in recent years. Rodgers joined from Celtic back in 2019, so could Postecoglou be the next Celtic manager to cross the border?
Michael Carrick
The current Middlesbrough boss is priced at 8/1 to become the next Leicester Manager. Since taking over Boro back in October, where they were in 21st place in the Championship, he has taken them to within six points of a automatic promotion spot, sitting 3rd place in the play-offs.
He has taken charge of a Premier League match before, when he was the caretaker manager of Manchester United following Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s departure.
Adam Sadler
Following Rodgers' departure, Adam Sadler is set to take charge of in the immediate future. His price at 10/1 indicates he is a long shot for the permanent position, but as some bookmakers deem the permanent manager as the manager to take charge at least 10 competitive games, he might be one to keep an eye on.
Sadler and Mike Stowell have previously taken charge of Leicester for one match before, where they beat Brighton before Rodgers took over back in 2019.
