Iheanacho, Ndidi to Get New Coach as Leicester Fires Puel

Nigeria internationals Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi are set to get a new coach at Leicester City following the dismissal of Frenchman Claude Puel yesterday.

The handwriting was on the wall that Puel was the next Premier League coach to be sacked following Leicester City’s poor run of results with six losses in their last seven games in all competitions and the 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday was the final straw for the Foxes higher ups.

Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr has an excellent relationship with Puel and the German admitted that he was in touch with the former Southampton coach over the striker’s lack of first team opportunities before the 2018 World Cup.

”Leicester City Football Club has today (Sunday) parted company with Claude Puel, who leaves his position as First Team Manager with immediate effect,” Leicester City said in a statement on its website.

“The club would like to thank Claude for his efforts in leading the team during his 16 months in the role and wish him well in his future career.”

Puel, 57, leaves the club 12th in the Premier League having lost five of their last six league games.

The Frenchman guided Leicester to a ninth-place finish in the Premier League in his first season but the club are now looking for their fourth permanent manager in 23 months.

Assistant manager Jacky Bonnevay will also leave the club, with first-team coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler set to take temporary charge of the squad.

Leicester’s next game is at home in the Premier League against Brighton on Tuesday.

Puel was appointed on a three-year deal in October 2017, succeeding Craig Shakespeare who in turn followed 2015-16 Premier League winning manager Claudio Ranieri in managing the club.

The former Lyon boss had been dismissed by Southampton in June 2017 and arrived at Leicester four months later with the club third from bottom of the league.

He led them to ninth in the table, just their second top-10 finish in the Premier League since 2000.

This season, Leicester have won nine of their 27 league matches, including back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Chelsea over the festive period.

But Puel’s style of play and recent team selections have been met with hesitation from Foxes fans.

Puel incensed some fans by fielding a weakened side against Manchester City in a Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat, with James Maddison and Marc Albrighton starting on the bench, while Jamie Vardy did not feature at all.

The Foxes’ 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Newport came after Puel made seven changes to his side – with Maddison and Vardy named on the bench – despite choosing five Premier League winners in the starting XI.

Striker Vardy, who has scored eight Premier League goals this season and is the club’s highest goal scorer this campaign, recently admitted that Puel’s tactical approach did not suit his style of play.

“Does it? No, but is that down to me to adapt to it? Yes. And obviously the only way I’m going to do that and keep progressing is working hard on the training field,” he said.