How Darren Ferguson really feels about replacing Gary Rowett at Leicester City | OneFootball

The stance of ex-Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson on potentially replacing Gary Rowett at Leicester City has emerged in a fresh update

Leicester City are on the hunt for a fifth permanent managerial hire in under two years as Gary Rowett prepares to leave the club following relegation to League One at the end of the 2025/26 Championship campaign.

A summer of seismic change now awaits the Foxes, who suffered successive relegations from the Premier League to English football's third-tier and will need to address a perilous financial situation in order to rebuild in 2026/27.

Having been brought in to succeed ex-QPR boss Marti Cifuentes, Leicester's form went from bad to worse under Rowett and a six-point deduction from the EFL owing to Profit and Sustainability (PSR) breaches in the club's 2023/24 Championship title-winning campaign prompted a relegation battle which the 52-year-old was unable to successfully overcome.

The Foxes are now poised to part ways with Rowett, who only signed an initial contract running to the end of the campaign, and will be commencing an impending managerial hunt in an effort to kick-start a significant rebuilding process both on and off-the-pitch.

A selection of names have already been touted in contention the soon-to-be-vacant Leicester job, such as impressive NEC Nijmegen boss Dick Schreuder, but links have also emerged to League One promotion specialist Darren Ferguson and the ex-Peterborough United figure's stance on potentially moving to the King Power Stadium this summer has now become clearer in a new update.

How Darren Ferguson really feels about taking the Leicester City job

A fresh report from talkSPORT's Alex Crook has laid claim on how Ferguson would feel about succeeding Rowett at Leicester heading into the 2026/27 League One campaign, having been out of work since departing Peterborough for the fourth time in October of last year.

As per the update, Ferguson has been "mooted" as a potential contender to replace Rowett and his third-tier credentials may appeal to Leicester as they bid to escape the division at the very first time of asking, having twice achieved promotion to the Championship with Posh.

It's noted that, as Leicester prepare to move on from Rowett, Ferguson himself is open to the possibility of taking over at Leicester and directing the club's rebuild over the summer months and beyond.

Ferguson is, of course, the son of legendary ex-Manchester United boss Sir Alex, and has made his own name in the dugout throughout a lengthy career, having first transitioned into management at Peterborough aged just 35 all the way back in 2007.

The Scotsman is vastly experienced and enjoyed previous stints in charge of Preston North End and Doncaster Rovers, although it's his association with Peterborough that he's most known for after managing more than 650 matches in the Posh dugout across four separate spells, with his most recent achievement being a 2-0 victory over free-spending title-winners Birmingham City at Wembley in last season's EFL Trophy final.

Ferguson guided Peterborough to the Championship as runners-up in both the 2008/09 and 2020/21 campaigns and is responsible for developing a number of stars at the Weston Homes Stadium over the years, including England international Ivan Toney, Britt Assombalonga, Harrison Burrows, Dwight Gayle, Ephron Mason-Clark, Sammie Szmodics and Lee Tomlin.

Darren Ferguson could be a shrewd appointment for Leicester City

Something of an elder statesman in the third-tier sphere, Ferguson's wealth of experience and proven expertise in knowing exactly what it takes to get out of this division should appeal strongly to Leicester owing to the importance of gaining promotion immediately - both from a footballing and financial perspective.

The Foxes will surely be bidding to do so with a considerably younger - and healthier - playing squad, too, as they look to shift a glut of high-earning big-name assets who failed to deliver in the Championship.

Teenage winger Jeremy Monga may well depart the East Midlands amid links to a series of leading clubs, although Leicester should be able to call upon the likes of Olabade Aluko, Will Alves, Sammy Braybrooke, Jake Evans, Ben Nelson and Louis Page next time around.

Leicester supporters have found a silver lining in the club's promising youth production line and Ferguson has a proven track record of working with and developing young talent, which could enable the 54-year-old to maximise both progression and future market value from some of City's prised academy stars.

There would, of course, have to be certain concerns regarding the long-term viability of appointing Ferguson if Leicester are to return to the Championship and his dismissal at Peterborough last year is hardly a ringing endorsement either, although many Posh fans will put that down to a now-flawed broader recruitment policy under chairman Darragh MacAnthony and, when assessing the immediate task at hand, he may just represent one of the strongest candidates at this moment in time.