How likely Leicester City are of appointing Nigel Pearson revealed | OneFootball

The Foxes will not be reuniting with their former boss following Marti Cifuentes' dismissal

Nigel Pearson is reportedly not in contention for the currently vacant managerial position at his former club, Leicester City.

That is according to an update from the Mirror on the publication's Transfer news LIVE blog (13:53 on Thursday, January 29th), with the Foxes hierarchy still on the lookout for a permanent successor to Marti Cifuentes, who was dismissed after just a matter of months in charge at the King Power Stadium.

The Spaniard was handed a three-year contract by the East Midlands club following their second relegation from the Premier League within three seasons, but was unable to mount the consistency required to challenge for promotion in the Championship.

Leicester, indeed, had won the second tier just 18 months ago under the management of Enzo Maresca, and have since endured three further failed managerial appointments, with a parting of ways between the club and Cifuentes following on from the sackings of both Steve Cooper and Ruud Van Nistelrooy during a disastrous 2024/25 campaign back in the top flight.

Despite the fact Leicester had started the campaign with a degree of promise - at least on the field - results started to follow a similar frustrating and inconsistent pattern throughout the vast majority of Cifuentes' tenure, as he was unable to showcase why he was so heavily courted after being placed on gardening leave by divisional rivals, Queens Park Rangers, at the end of last season.

With the Foxes also in a concerning predicament in the boardroom amid fears of a points deduction due to several alleged PSR breaches, the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of his reign was last Saturday's alarming performance and 2-1 defeat to Oxford United at the King Power Stadium.

It was a result that leaves Leicester languishing in 14th in the table, six points off the top six and nine clear of the bottom three, with Andy King expected to oversee the upcoming home clash with Charlton Athletic.

The former City midfielder's interim spell for at least one game is allowing the hierarchy to draw up a substantial list of potential candidates as several names have been linked with the post.

However, Pearson will not be one of those, according to fresh reports.

The 62-year-old's affilation with the Foxes is well-documented, having enjoyed two spells as manager in this part of the Midlands, with both also bringing success.

Pearson was initially able to guide Leicester to the League One title in 2008/09 before seeing his side suffer heartbreak on penalties to Cardiff City in the Championship play-off semi-finals the following season.

After spending nearly 18 months in charge of Hull City, the Nottingham-born man returned to the Foxes in November 2011 for a second stint that initially began with two failed promotion attempts, before City eventually secured the Championship title in 2013/14 after accumulating 102 points.

Pearson was also in charge of the precursor to Leicester's Premier League title success under Claudio Ranieri, as he was able to mastermind a 'great escape' by winning seven of the final nine games in 2014/15 to end the season six points clear of the relegation zone, before being sacked due to an 'unviable' relationship between himself and the board.

Although the Foxes currently find themselves in a completely different state, due to what has gone before and current concerns, a return to the King Power for the experienced boss has been heavily debated, despite the fact Pearson has also been out of work since October 2023 after being dismissed by Bristol City.

However, the Mirror report that the Leicester hierarchy have not made any contact with the former boss over such developments taking place.

As previously mentioned, Pearson isn't the only experienced boss who has been linked with the post as the club look to conduct as swift a managerial search as possible.

Former Leicester full-back, Gary Rowett - who was dismissed by Oxford last month - and Hearts boss, Derek McInnes, were amongst the first names to be linked with the post, whilst former candidate, Russell Martin, has also emerged as a potential choice.

It has since been claimed that, as a result of the Foxes hierarchy having high hopes for the aforementioned King's coaching career, he could be joined by his former Wales boss, Chris Coleman, whilst Vitor Pereira - who was sacked by Wolves nearly three months ago - has also been namedropped into the conversation.