Next Leicester City manager: Ranking the seven favourites to replace Marti Cifuentes | OneFootball

According to reports, Marti Cifuentes is on the brink of being sacked by Leicester City following their latest defeat against Oxford United.

The result leaves Leicester 14th in the Championship and nervously looking over their shoulder, with a potential point deduction on the way.

Using the latest bookies’ odds, we’ve ranked the seven favourites to replace Cifuentes and have assessed how good they would be in the job.

1. Russell Martin – 5/1

The current frontrunner to replace Cifuentes is Martin, who has been out of work since being sacked by Rangers in October.

Prior to appointing Cifuentes, Martin was heavily linked with the Leicester job, before he eventually landed at Rangers instead.

While the 40-year-old does have a proven track record at this level and a promotion on his CV with Southampton, appointing him at this stage of the season would bring its fair share of risk.

If Leicester are handed a six point deduction, they would fall to 17th in the table and only be three points above the relegation zone.

Martin’s possession-heavy style would take time to embed, but if the Foxes are dragged into a relegation scrap, they need their new manager to hit the ground running.

Without the luxury of a full pre-season, this appointment would raise some eyebrows at this stage.

2. Robbie Keane – 7/1

Keane was recently linked with the Celtic job, before the club decided to reappoint Martin O’Neill until the end of the season.

The 45-year-old has been linked with plenty of vacancies and it seems like only a matter of time before he ends up back in the UK.

He’s currently the manager of Ferencvaros, who are in the midst of a title race in Hungary. How likely is he to switch that for a potential relegation battle with Leicester? We’re not so sure.

And he can’t even play the former club card, incredibly.

3. Mark Robins – 8/1

After doing an excellent job with Coventry, Robins has continued to prove himself as a solid pair of hands at Championship level with Stoke City.

He took charge of the Potters last season when the club was threatened by relegation and has since turned them into top-six challengers.

Going by his track record, Robins would be an excellent option to steady the ship at the King Power, but getting him out of Stoke would likely be costly. For that reason, this seems like it could be a long-shot at this stage.

4. Gary Rowett – 9/1

Rowett is only the fourth favourite with the bookies’ right now, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he was handed the job until the end of the season.

He’s available after being dismissed by Oxford and while his football isn’t for everyone, he boasts a solid track record at this level.

Despite how things ended for Rowett at Oxford, he did a brilliant job to keep them up last season and would likely be able to calm things down at the King Power, for the time being.

5. Lee Carsley – 10/1

Currently the manager of England Under-21s, Carsley has consistently been linked with head-coach roles over the past 12 months.

Indeed, back in December, he was linked with the Birmingham job when Chris Davies was under increasing pressure around that time.

Many have tipped the 51-year-old to have a bright future in the game, but it remains to be seen if Leicester, in their current state, could tempt him away from the England set-up.

=6. Kevin Muscat – 12/1

The 52-year-old was recently linked with the Rangers job before Danny Rohl was hired.

He’s currently managing Chinese side Shanghai Port and would be a left-field option for Leicester to appoint at this stage.

=6. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – 12/1

After missing out on the Manchester United job to Michael Carrick, Solskjaer is still on the hunt for his next role.

He’s previously said that he’d be happy to drop down to the Championship if the right offer came along and he’s been linked with the Leicester job in previous years. One to keep your eye on.