Sky Sports reporter drops new update on Leicester City manager search | OneFootball

The Foxes remain on the search for Marti Cifuentes' successor heading towards the weekend's fixtures

A new update has been dropped on Leicester City's latest managerial search by Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports.

According to the journalist, the Foxes will oversee their upcoming clash with Charlton Athletic at the King Power Stadium under the interim management of club legend and first-team coach, Andy King, as the hierarchy in this part of the East Midlands continue their hunt for Marti Cifuentes' permanent successor.

It has been a dismal return to the Championship for Leicester, who were expected to mount a sustained promotion bid at the start of the season by many outsiders, largely down to their recent pedigree and the players that remained at the King Power following Cifuentes' appointment last June.

The former Queens Park Rangers boss was unable to translate his previous work at Loftus Road into a successful spell with the Foxes, as they are currently languishing in mid-table as the first month of 2026 nears its conclusion.

The final straw for Cifuentes proved to be a 2-1 home defeat to Oxford United, who recorded their first victory under the newly-appointed Matt Bloomfield in the process.

Goals from Sam Long and Mark Harris proved to be the undoing of Leicester once more, and the end result only added to what was an extremely poor run of form at the tail end of Cifuentes' tenure, with City winning just three of his final 10 second tier outings in charge.

A handful of names with varying levels of experience in English and European football have since become linked with the vacant post, although it is fair to say that not all of those have been met with a great level of enthusiasm from an already divided fanbase.

And, with a crucial clash against the Addicks looming large, it appears as though supporters will have to wait until at least the first week of February to potentially learn the identity of Leicester's fifth permanent boss since May 2024, when they lifted the Championship title under Enzo Maresca.

As previously mentioned, numerous potential candidates have become immediately linked with the Leicester post, with Gary Rowett and Derek McInnes amongst the first of those to be reported.

The latter is currently overseeing a Scottish Premiership title charge with Hearts having penned a new long-term contract at the end of last season, whilst Rowett is now available on the managerial market after he was dismissed by Oxford on December 23rd, and was eventually replaced by the aforementioned Bloomfield at the Kassam Stadium earlier this month.

However, when asked about links to the managerial post at his former club, which he played for 57 times between 2000 and 2002, the 51-year-old kept his cards extremely close to his chest.

Russell Martin was identified as a potential replacement for Ruud Van Nistelrooy last summer before Leicester moved to hand Cifuentes an initial three-year contract at the King Power, and the former Southampton and Rangers boss has, once again, become linked with the role having been out of work for three months.

It had also emerged that Chris Coleman is among the front-runners for the vacancy, having previously worked with Leicester's sister club, OH Leuven, as well as being viewed as a potential mentor for the aforementioned King, who is highly-rated in terms of his coaching ability by Foxes chiefs.

King was also a part of Coleman's Wales squad which reached the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-finals, meaning there is a pre-existing relationship between the two, whilst Vitor Pereira - formerly of Wolves - is also reportedly on Leicester's radar when it comes to their next appointment.

However, Dorsett claims that King is expected to take charge against Nathan Jones' Charlton side on Saturday lunchtime, with the Leicester hierarchy continuing to draw up a shortlist of long-term candidates.

At present, Leicester are 14th in the Championship table, six points behind the play-off places and nine points ahead of the relegation zone with 17 games remaining.

It is imperative that they respond immediately to the developments which have taken place in the East Midlands this week, whilst it is also a chance for King to showcase why he is so highly thought of when it comes to his coaching nous.

Although supporters are understandably frustrated and concerned with the club's current situation both on and off the pitch - which includes fears of a points deduction - it would certainly lift the mood for a matter of time at least if City were able to record an 11th win of their league season before attention turns back to whom the latest manager or head coach could possibly be.