Coady and Pereira react as Leicester confirm Marti Cifuentes appointment
Leicester City defenders Conor Coady and Ricardo Pereira have reacted after the Foxes confirmed the appointment of outgoing QPR boss Marti Cifuentes as their new manager.
The Foxes were relegated back to the Championship in 18th place last season after a turbulent campaign under the guidance of both Steve Cooper and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Leicester managed to win just five times in 27 games while the latter was in charge, and Football Insider revealed in May that the East Midlands outfit were set to sack Van Nistelrooy this summer ahead of their return to the second-tier.
The Man United hero was relieved of his duties at the King Power Stadium at the end of June, and Football Insider soon revealed that former Everton boss Sean Dyche had turned down the chance to become the new Leicester manager.
Spanish boss Cifuentes recently emerged on Leicester’s radar after he was placed on gardening leave by QPR [BBC] back in April following links to the West Brom job [BBC], and he officially departed the Loftus Road club on 24 June [QPR].
Marti Cifuentes appointed as Leicester’s new manager
Leicester confirmed Cifuentes’ appointment with an Instagram post on Tuesday (15 July), saying: “Welcoming Martí Cifuentes as our new Manager” alongside a fox emoji, which was responded to with likes by long-serving full-back Pereira, Coady, Kasey McAteer and club legend Andy King.
The 43-year-old took over a struggling QPR side in October 2023 and led them to safety in the Championship, then he guided them to a 15th-placed finish in the second-tier last term.
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said in a club statement that Cifuentes’ “energy, ambition and clarity of ideas stood out” in the interview process, while the Spaniard insisted it was a “great honour” to be named as boss at the King Power Stadium [Leicester].
Coady may not even play under Cifuentes at Leicester
Football Insider verdict
Leicester’s struggles last season were largely down to their poor defensive structure and performances, and former England international Coady did not do much to help as he struggled with the pace of the Premier League and made just 19 league starts.
Even though he may well be pleased by the prospect of highly-rated Cifuentes taking over as Foxes boss, it certainly seems unlikely that he even gets to take in his coaching methods as he nears the King Power exit door.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 198 | 7 | 1 |
Football Insider revealed last month that Scottish giants Rangers had made an enquiry about signing Coady, and that was soon followed up by Football Insider revealing that the Gers were in advanced talks over a deal for Coady and were confident of a deal happening.
The Daily Record reported on Tuesday (15 July) that the former Everton centre-back is set to plead with Leicester bosses to be omitted from their pre-season tour as he targets a move to Rangers before they start Champions League qualification, so a move seems imminent as things ramp up at Leicester ahead of the new campaign.