Who will replace Steve Cooper as Leicester City manager? Best options for the Foxes explored

Cooper was appointed in the summer following Enzo Maresca’s departure to Chelsea, but has lost his job after just two wins in the opening 12 games of the league campaign.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Maresca’s return to the King Power Stadium, which saw the Foxes fail to have a shot on target until their penalty in the fourth minute of time added on, left them teetering above the relegation zone. Following their surprise relegation to the Championship in 2022-23, the club were desperate to avoid a repeat and the hierarchy believed sacking Cooper was their best chance of doing so.

Although Cooper recently delivered back-to-back wins against Bournemouth and Southampton, there were concerns within the club about a number of issues such as poor performances, a lack of connection with the fans and friction with players behind the scenes.

Already, a number of different managers are being lined up as potential replacements. Here are the gaffers who could soon stand in the dugout for Leicester City.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy was appointed as interim Manchester United manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked and oversaw three wins and one draw during his four games at the helm.

Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Old Trafford brought Van Nistelrooy’s time at the club – where he scored 150 goals in 219 appearances – to an end, but the 48-year-old was swiftly linked to the job vacancy at Coventry and has now been installed as favourite to head to Leicester instead.

David Moyes

Moyes led West Ham to Europa Conference League glory in 2023 and the club finished ninth in the Premier League the following season, but Moyes left by mutual consent in May when his contract expired.

Moyes worked as a pundit during this summer’s European Championship but admitted he wanted to remain involved in management.

“There’s a lot of things that hopefully later in life I can choose to do,” Moyes said. “But I’m not quite sure yet if I want to give up my whistle and my stopwatch.”

Graham Potter

Potter has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after less than seven months in charge.

The former Brighton boss has been linked with a number of clubs – and also the England job when Gareth Southgate stepped down – during his extended break from the game but said recently he was “ready and looking forward to the next challenge”.

Lee Carsley

Carsley has returned to his role in charge of England’s Under-21s after leading the Three Lions to five wins out of six during his interim spell with the senior squad.

There were points during his tenure when fans thought he might be given the job full-time, although that position has since been handed to German manager Thomas Tuchel.

That spell ended on a high with a thumping 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley and Carsley has been widely praised for giving debuts to a number of young players, including Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento and Taylor Harwood-Bellis .

Edin Terzic

Terzic spent two seasons in charge of Borussia Dortmund before resigning in June this year. During an interim spell in charge of the club, Terzic won the German Cup in 2021 and was appointed head coach in May 2022.

The club were Bundesliga runners-up in the 2022-23 season and reached the final of last campaign’s Champions League, where they were beaten by Real Madrid.