Next Leicester Manager Odds: Martin New Favourite For Faltering Foxes
Leicester's terrible league form continued at the weekend, with a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham extending their winless run to five games.
The Championship club added four new signings to their squad on transfer deadline day, but it failed to arrest the lack of confidence in a team now only out of the relegation zone on goal difference, having been deducted six points for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
Andy King remains in temporary charge of first-team affairs since the dismissal of Marti Cifuentes and, despite losing both games, is still popular on betting sites to land the job on a permanent basis.
He was favourite last week, but after a flurry of support, Russell Martin has replaced him at the head of the market.
The Foxes are now on the hunt for a fourth permanent manager since Enzo Maresca left the club in 2024.
It marks another sharp chapter in Leicester’s dramatic fall from grace since their unforgettable Premier League triumph in 2016, as they continue to battle to restore their former glory.
We take a look at some of the candidates to stop the rot at the King Power stadium.
Martin's Odds Slashed
One man who knows the Championship both as a player and a manager is Russell Martin, who guided Southampton to the Premier League via the play-offs in the 2023/24 season.
The Scot struggled in the top flight after refusing to compromise on playing out from the back, and then endured a disastrous spell as Rangers manager, so his reputation has taken a bit of a battering in the last 18 months.
However, Martin impressed during managerial spells with MK Dons and Swansea, so he still has plenty of credit left in the bank.
The former Norwich defender was 4/1 to return to management at the King Power Stadium, but those odds have shortened to 5/2 with some betting apps.
Next Leicester Manager Odds: Crown For King?
King, a key member of the squad that won the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri in the 2015/16 season, had been 3/1 in recent days, but has now drifted to 4/1 to fill the vacancy at Leicester.
The former Foxes midfielder has told the players to avoid 'arrogance', believing that some members of the team think the club is too big to go down.
Leicester fans have been right behind the former Wales international, but after two defeats, it is clear they need an experienced man at the helm.
King is likely to be in charge for the home game against Southampton on Tuesday, but will he still be in charge when they face the Saints again in the FA Cup next weekend?
Is Skubala Ready For Big Job?
Michael Skubala is another to have shortened sharply in the betting, with the Lincoln City head coach backed into 4/1 from 14/1 to become Leicester’s next permanent manager.
This season, his Imps side have been one of League One’s most consistent performers, mixing a strong defensive record with dynamic attacking play that has kept them comfortably in the promotion mix.
Skubala’s CV includes stints as a coach at Coventry and Nottingham Forest, and he also has experience handling top-level pressure, having taken charge of Leeds as caretaker in early 2023.
The question is whether he is willing to step away from a promotion push with Lincoln to take over a relegation battle with Leicester.
Next Leicester Manager Odds:
Manager | Odds | Probability |
Russell Martin | 5/2 | 28.6% |
Andy King | 4/1 | 20% |
Michael Skubala | 4/1 | 20% |
Gary Rowett | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Chris Coleman | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Vito Pereira | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Enzo Maresca | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Alan Sheehan | 14/1 | 6.7% |
Lee Carsley | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Ralph Hasenhuttl | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Nigel Pearson | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Rowett Back In The Running
Former Leicester full-back Rowett was 8/1 for the City job late last week, but his odds have shortened to 5/1 to replace Cifuentes.
Rowett played for Leicester in the Premier League for two years between 2000-02 and has plenty of managerial experience in the Championship, but he was sacked by Oxford in December.
That said, he steered Birmingham from just outside the relegation zone to 10th place in his debut season in 2014/15 and was controversially sacked by the new ownership at the end of 2016 when the club were in seventh spot.
Rowett guided Derby to the Championship play-offs, and although things did not work out at Stoke, he helped Millwall finish in the top half of the table in three successive seasons, so he has generally done well despite never achieving promotion in almost 14 years as a manager.
Coleman In The Frame
Former Wales head coach Chris Coleman has spent the last eight years coaching abroad in China, Greece, Cyprus and Belgium, but he is now the 6/1 to return to the UK and take the reins at Leicester.
Coleman is well known to the Leicester hierarchy, having coached sister club OH Leuven to a respectable 11th-placed finish in the Belgian top flight last season.
The ex-Fulham captain enjoyed several promotions as a player, but success has so far eluded him as a manager, although he sensationally led Wales to the European Championship semi-finals 10 years ago.
His last managerial appointment in England came in the 2017/18 season at Sunderland, who were inside the Championship relegation zone when he replaced Simon Grayson.
However, chairman Ellis Short refused to invest in player transfers during the January transfer window, which ultimately led to the club's relegation.
Pereira Leads Outsiders
Vitor Pereira saved Wolves from Premier League relegation when he joined the club towards the end of 2024, so perhaps he could reinvigorate another Midlands side.
The Portuguese was sacked almost a year ago and is 10/1 to land the Leicester post.
Former Swansea boss Alan Sheehan started his playing career at Leicester and can be backed at 14/1, although the odds suggest a move to the King Power is unlikely.
Maresca Unlikely To Return
Leicester have reportedly made contact with their promotion-winning head coach Enzo Maresca (12/1) about a dramatic return on a short-term deal until the end of the campaign.
Maresca led City to the Premier League in his only season at the King Power Stadium, but left the club to join heavyweights Chelsea.
Despite winning the Europa Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup with the Blues, the Italian parted company with the club in the new year after 18 months in charge.
Maresca is available for work, but he is likely to hold out for a bigger club to come calling.
Carsley Club Move Unlikely
Whenever a managerial vacancy arises with one of the Championship’s Midland clubs, Lee Carsley tends to appear as one of the favourites.
The former midfielder had spells as a player with Derby, Coventry (twice) and his hometown club Birmingham, although he is best remembered for his time with Everton.
Carsley has twice led England U21s to the European Championship title and had a spell as interim coach of the Three Lions, winning five of his six games before returning to his day job.
However, Carsley signed a new contract with England U21s last June, and he has no experience of managing a club, which explains why his odds have drifted from 12/1 to 16/1 in recent days.
Hasenhuttl A Dark Horse
Ex-Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who spent last season in charge of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, is also 16/1 to get back on the managerial merry-go-round in England.
Nigel Pearson enjoyed a couple of promotions as Leicester manager during two separate spells and is 16/1 to return for a third stint.
Out of work since leaving Bristol City in 2023, he is credited by some as the man who built the foundations for the team that won the Premier League under Ranieri.
* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.
Leicester fans, who would you like to see as a replacement for Marti Cifuentes? Let us know in the comments below or vote in our poll above
