Gary Lineker has recommended Leicester City take a chance on their next managerial option after Steve Cooper was sacked on Sunday.
He was appointed as Enzo Maresca’s replacement in the summer after the Italian joined Chelsea but, after a four-match winless run, was poetically sacked the day after Leicester lost 2-1 at home to the team. Maresca.
Cooper was in charge of just 15 games for the Foxes, winning three – a dismal 20 per cent win rate.
Lineker revealed he would like to see former England caretaker manager Lee Carlsey get a place in the newly promoted Premier League side.
Carsley returned to head coaching duties with the England Under-21 team following his final game for the senior team against Ireland last week, which ended in a 5-0 win for the Three Lions.
Thomas Tuchel will succeed him in January 2025, after signing an 18-month contract with England in October.
Gary Lineker recommended Leicester City take a chance on England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley
The 50-year-old won five of his six caps for the senior team during his brief time with the team.
Steve Cooper was sacked by Leicester, who are winless in four games and languishing in 16th place in the table.
The Match of the Day presenter admitted that hiring Carsley would be a bit risky, but highlighted the 50-year-old’s success in his brief spell in England and how positively the players reacted to his management technique.
“I’d pick Lee Carsley, I think he’s got something,” Lineker told The Rest Is Football podcast.
“There is a bit of a reluctance in the Premier League, with possible exceptions – Brentford and Brighton – to hire young managers who think they have something going for them.
“The coaching ability is there and then you do a little bit of punting.” It is difficult for a club that is going to fight against relegation.
“It would be a difficult first managerial job for someone like Carsley, but from the way the English players responded to him you could tell they respected him as a coach and thought he had good ideas. I thought he was really imaginative and brave.”