Leicester City make ‘£10m compensation payout’ – Keith Wyness
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has suggested Leicester City’s owners have set a “dangerous” precedent after caving to player power.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed Steve Cooper’s sacking could cost the club close to “£10million”.
Football Insider revealed on Sunday (24 November) that Leicester’s owners decided to sack Cooper after entering the dressing room in the wake of the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea a day earlier.
Senior executives spoke to the players shortly after the full-time whistle at the King Power Stadium to assess the mood of the changing room.
Cooper was just five months into his three-year contract at Leicester and has departed with the club 16th in the Premier League table.
Leicester owners have gone down a ‘dangerous road’ with Cooper sack, says Wyness
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I’ve said all along that Cooper was the right type of personality for the battle at Leicester.
“But it seems he didn’t mesh with the players and the owner.
“It’s only five months into a three-year contract, so it’ll be a pretty hefty compensation payout – pretty close to £10million, if not more.
“It’s an expensive decision and I believe it was taken by the owner himself.
“I think it’s a dangerous road to go down – listening to the players, and letting the players run the whole situation.
“But obviously, things weren’t happy.
“They weren’t in the bottom three, but obviously personalities in football are the key thing.”
In other news, major points deduction update from Leicester.
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