Leicester City are currently on the hunt for a new manager ahead of the 2024/25 campaign after Enzo Maresca departed the club earlier this month.
The Italian head coach opted to leave the King Power to join Premier League rivals Chelsea, which has left the board scrambling to find a replacement before the new season.
Trying to find a manager to lead the team to top-flight survival whilst also identifying and pursuing targets to bolster the squad to compete in the league is not an easy task and those in power behind the scenes have a huge task on their hands over the weeks and months to come.
The Foxes are reportedly eyeing up a manager who was in the Premier League as recently as the 2023/24 campaign to lead them into a new era, and he could be perfect for current star Stephy Mavididi.
Leicester City hold talks with former Premier League boss
According to talkSPORT, Steve Cooper has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace Maresca in the dugout at the King Power this summer.
The report claims that the club have already held initial talks with the Welsh tactician over a possible deal to join the Foxes and end his time out of work.
He has been without a job since his departure from Nottingham Forest in December 2023 and this means that Leicester do not have to negotiate with a club to swoop for him, which possibly makes him a more attractive option than others who they would need to pay compensation for.
The outlet does not reveal how open Cooper is to taking on the job, though, and it remains to be seen how viable a deal for the ex-Swansea man is at this point.
Why Steve Cooper would be a dream for Stephy Mavididi
If Leicester do agree a deal for the 44-year-old boss then he could be a dream for winger Mavididi, due to his formation and style of play with Forest.
Cooper, whose work with Forest was dubbed "incredible" by Sam Allardyce, typically deploys an attacking 4-3-3 formation and his management helped to bring the best out of wide man Brennan Johnson.
Appearances
46
38
Goals
16
8
Assists
10
3
Big chances created
15
4
Key passes per game
1.3
0.8
As you can see in the table above, the Wales international thrived under the manager at Championship and Premier League level in one of his two winger roles.
This earned him a move worth in excess of £45m to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023 and Mavidid could hope that Cooper can do similar for his career prospects.
The 26-year-old racked up 12 goals, six assists, and 11 'big chances' created, to go along with 1.6 key passes per game, in 46 Championship outings for the Foxes this season.
Like Johnson, Mavididi is an electric winger who likes to score and create goals on a regular basis, as shown by their similar statistics, and that is why Cooper could be a dream manager for him.
Leicester talking to Maresca successor who'd be perfect for Dewsbury-Hall
Leicester City are very much hunting down an Enzo Maresca heir with this name now linked.
ByKelan SarsonJun 6, 2024
The Welsh boss got the best out of his compatriot at Forest and could use his attacking 4-3-3 system to do the same for the English wizard, which could then put him in the shop window for a mega-money move like Johnson to Spurs.
