Leicester City have sacked manager Craig Shakespeare.
Leicester City today took the surprise decision to sack manager Craig Shakespeare, ending his eight-month spell in charge of the club.
The Foxes drew 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion on Monday night, with Nacer Chadli’s opener cancelled out by Riyad Mahrez, rescuing a point for the hosts.
Whilst fans were disappointed with a home draw, few could have really expected to see Shakespeare lose his job the very next day, with Leicester releasing a statement on their official website earlier today confirming Shakespeare’s exit.
Just eight months after replacing Claudio Ranieri, Shakespeare is out of a job, and Leicester are again in the market for a new manager.
With that in mind, bookmakers have already been pricing up odds for who could replace Shakespeare, and here are five of the main movers tonight…
Sam Allardyce: 2/1
Whilst Allardyce appeared to have retired when he left Crystal Palace at the end of last season, but he has since hinted that he could be open to a return to management. The former England boss, 62, is now the 2/1 favourite to replace Shakespeare whilst completing a return to the Premier League, though Foxes fans may not feel that he’s a long-term solution.
Chris Coleman 3/1
Wales boss Coleman has seen his stock rise since landing the job in 2012, and particularly impressed at Euro 2016, where he took Wales to the semi-finals. Now, with Wales’ World Cup qualifying hopes over after losing to Ireland last week, Coleman looks set to move on and return to club management, and he has emerged as a 3/1 frontrunner for the Leicester job.
Carlo Ancelotti 8/1
A former Champions League winner with AC Milan and Real Madrid, Ancelotti is out of work having lost his job with Bayern Munich last month. The Italian has managed high-profile clubs such as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in recent years, meaning that a move to Leicester may be seen as something of a step down, but he is currently 8/1 to take the job, in what would be a hugely ambitious move.
Michael Appleton
Appleton surprisingly took the decision to leave his post as Oxford United manager over the summer, in order to become Shakespeare’s assistant at Leicester. Now an 8/1 shot to land the Leicester job, Appleton has been named as caretaker manager in Shakespeare’s absence, and could be a surprise name in the frame for the Foxes.
Nigel Pearson 10/1
Former Leicester boss Pearson lost his job in 2015, prompting the appointment of Claudio Ranieri, but is now in the bookmakers’ odds to return, coming in at 10/1. The 54-year-old, who is still fairly well-liked at the King Power Stadium after two spells in charge, would be a surprise choice to replace Shakespeare given his torrid spell with Derby County and his surprise recent move to Belgian side OH Leuven.
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