Man United hero installed as favourite to be next Leicester City manager amid Marti Cifuentes sack development
Michael Carrick is the bookmakers’ favourite to be the next Leicester City manager as current boss Marti Cifuentes edges closer to the sack.
Leicester‘s return to the Championship has not gone to plan at all so far after Cifuentes was hired as the man to get them back to the Premier League ahead of this season.
They are currently 13th in the second tier after 25 games, having lost nine so far this season, with a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United on New Year’s Day plunging the Spaniard’s future into further uncertainty.
Football Insider revealed last month that Leicester were seriously considering sacking Cifuentes, but a three-match unbeaten run that followed, with wins against Derby and Ipswich, was enough to save his job.
His side were abject in defeat to the Blades and have now lost three of their last four games, so it certainly seems likely that he is relieved of his duties soon, with Carrick a frontrunner to succeed him at the King Power Stadium.
Carrick leads odds to be next Leicester boss ahead of Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil
Man United hero Carrick has been out of a job since he was sacked by Middlesbrough in June, after they finished 10th in the Championship despite being in the race for a top-six finish.
He led Boro to a fourth-placed finish in his first season in charge after taking over while they were in a relegation battle, but they were beaten by Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.
They came eighth in the Championship in his second campaign at the helm before falling to 10th last season, but despite that downfall, Carrick has been mooted to take over at Man United on an interim basis recently amid uncertainty around Ruben Amorim’s job.
The former England midfielder is undoubtedly one of the best available options in the Championship manager market, so it comes as little surprise to see him installed as the current favourite to replace Cifuentes at Leicester, at odds of 3/1.
Former Rangers boss Martin is second-favourite at 5/1, with Gary O’Neil up next at 6/1, while ex-Foxes manager Martin O’Neill is also believed to be in the running at 13/2.
Has Carrick been linked to any other clubs with managers under pressure?
There are several other Championship managers aside from Cifuentes who are walking tightropes at their respective clubs right now, and some sackings could be on the horizon depending on this weekend’s results.
Carrick is also the favourite to be the next West Brom boss as it stands, with Ryan Mason at real risk of being relieved of his duties with the club sitting 18th in the second tier.
Football Insider recently revealed that Carrick is in contention to be Birmingham’s next manager after Chris Davies, who is also under serious pressure as their promotion push falters.
Leicester are yet to act on Cifuentes’ future despite sack pressure from their fans, but they clearly need to move quickly if they want Carrick to replace him at the King Power Stadium soon.