Leicester City are now eyeing a move to replace Steve Cooper with an “exceptional” new manager in a bid to avoid relegation, it has been reported.
Leicester lose again
A third loss in five Premier League games saw Leicester City edge back towards the relegation zone as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea. Boos rang around the King Power Stadium at points during their defeat on Saturday lunchtime, with the Foxes offering very little by way of attack for much of the encounter and Cooper’s style of football coming under increasing scrutiny.
They managed just a single shot on target across the entire encounter, a penalty in the 94th minute, and just four shots in total, underlining just how poor they were against former manager Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side.
“It’s one of the toughest games so far this season and proved to be that challenge. The first 30 minutes were a challenge and for all of the defending that we had to do, we ended up giving away a really soft goal”, Cooper explained, before saving special criticism for the refereeing performance on show.
“We’ve had a lot of bad luck with this referee this year. It’s our third or fourth game with him and it’s not been the best of times. It continued today.
“The last thing [referees’ body] PGMOL needed was that performance. He’s got some big decisions massively wrong and in general a couple of advantages he blew up.”
But even with favourable refereeing decisions, Leicester would have been fortunate to claim a draw, and the result leaves them on just 10 points from 12 games, something that has given the Foxes hierarchy food for thought.
Leicester now target ex-Premier League boss
Now, reports in Spain claim that Leicester are already looking at potential replacements for Cooper as the Foxes face a favourable run of fixtures ahead.
And one of the men that they are considering making a move for is ex-West Ham, Manchester United and Everton coach David Moyes, who has been out of work since his time with the Hammers came to an end over the summer.
The report claims that the Scot, who has six career wins against Leicester City in 14 attempts, “has proven his ability to manage teams in difficult situations”, while his favoured 4-2-3-1 system is not too different from that which Cooper is already implementing, suggesting that the players wouldn’t take too long to adapt to their new manager.
There is no time frame mentioned over when a decision may be made on Cooper’s future, but Moyes remains without work and could be keen to return to the Premier League, where he has managed almost 700 games.
Related
Leicester City eyeing move for “exciting” £17m Abdul Fatawu replacement
The winger is set to miss the rest of the season.
The Scot is well regarded by his fellow bosses too, with Mikel Arteta dubbing him an “exceptional” coach before the sides met last season, having played under him at Everton.
“I would go through a brick wall for him when he was my manager. I think everybody would in that squad. [He is] exceptional at managing the group and dealing with individuals, and a very special person, a really special human being.”
Could he be the man to keep the Foxes in the Premier League?
