What is going on with Leicester City’s search to appoint Marti Cifuentes’ replacement? | OneFootball

The Foxes have been without a permanent head coach since January 25th

Leicester City are currently one of two Championship sides conducting a managerial search, with the Foxes still on the lookout for Marti Cifuentes' long-term successor at the King Power Stadium.

Despite the fact his tenure got off to an impressive start at the beginning of the season, the Spaniard was unable to continue such consistent form throughout the first half of the campaign, and he became Leicester's latest managerial casualty on January 25th following a 2-1 home defeat to lowly Oxford United.

Results and performances have not improved under the interim management of former City midfield icon, Andy King, either, with the former Premier League champions succumbing to defeats against Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City in their past two second tier outings.

The mood at the King Power has only gotten worse within the past week too, as the club finally learned the outcome of their hearing in November 2025 due to several profitability and sustainability (PSR) breaches.

The Foxes were handed a six-point deduction on Thursday, February 5th, which saw them placed outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference ahead of Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion, although results over the course of the weekend saw King's side slip down to 21st.

It has been two-and-a-half weeks since Cifuentes was handed his P45 by the club, and it still remains to be seen who will be appointed for the long-term by Leicester's under-fire hierarchy.

With City in action against Southampton at the King Power on Tuesday night in a must-win encounter, Football League World have looked into what the current goings-on are surrounding their lengthy managerial search.

Andy King isn't set to be handed full-time Leicester City managerial role

It has been reported by Football Insider that the back-to-back defeats against Charlton and Birmingham have damaged King's chances of landing the vacancy at the King Power on a full-time basis.

Such developments come after it was previously claimed by the same publication that the Foxes were eyeing up a potential move for Chris Coleman, who would work alongside King in the dugout, offering some form of mentorship to the club icon, who had previously worked as a first-team coach under Cifuentes after a period with the club's Under-18s setup.

However, Jordan Blackwell of the Leicester Mercury has since commented on the aforementioned reports, describing them as somewhat strange as King was previously aware that the full-time role would not be his, and that his period of interim charge would not be viewed as an 'audition' period.

Gary Rowett, who was dismissed by Oxford two days before Christmas, is one man who has been heavily linked with a managerial switch to either Leicester, where he played between 2000 and 2002, and their relegation rivals, Blackburn.

It was reported shortly after Cifuentes' dismissal that the 51-year-old was a strong contender for the post alongside Hearts boss, Derek McInnes.

With Rovers parting company with Valerien Ismael last week, it has been widely reported that the East Lancashire side have made Rowett their top choice to take over at Ewood Park, and have planned talks in a bid to stave off Leicester's interest, which has been viewed as one of two potential stumbling blocks.

However, analysing the Foxes' predicament over the weekend on Sky Sports, Rowett said: “I think they'll make a change as well, managerial wise. I think they'll be really ambitious with their next appointment. If they are in the top six, I think it's a very different appeal to the job.

“But when you look at their training ground, when you look at the size of the club, I think there'll be a hell of a lot of managers who'll be looking at that job thinking ‘I can get them out of trouble’.

“Then it's what's next for that opportunity and I don't think there's many jobs come around like that in the Championship. That's why I'm saying I think there'll be a really ambitious appointment for the next one and I'd expect them to make that quite soon," he added.

Russell Martin was linked with the Leicester post in the summer following Van Nistelrooy's dismissal, and has, again, emerged as a potential target as he seeks new employment following his short-lived tenure at Rangers.

It was reported that the Foxes hierarchy were considering a move for the ex-Southampton boss to replace Cifuentes. However, the aforementioned Blackwell believes that this will be the case due to fan backlash, and that there remains no stand-out candidate for the role.

The reporter has also claimed that Leicester are unlikely to buy Michael Skubala out of his Lincoln City contract, with the Imps currently second in League One under his guidance.