Gareth Southgate and ex-PE teacher among frontrunners for Championship job

Leicester City are still looking for a replacement for Marti Cifuentes in the dugout, but leading contenders are emerging.

Cifuentes was sacked last month and Foxes legend Andy King has stepped up to take interim charge of the club since.

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King’s time in charge hasn’t gone well though, losing both of his two games on the touchline and having two players sent off.

On top of that, Leicester were deducted six points by the EFL for breaching financial rules, which has seen them plunged into relegation trouble in the Championship.

It means they are now in desperate need of a new manager to come in to steady the ship and prevent a shock drop to League One.

So, here’s a look at the frontrunners for the job at the King Power Stadium, using talkSPORT BET’s latest odds:

Gareth Southgate – 4/1

The current bookies’ joint-favourite to become the next Leicester manager is ex-England boss Gareth Southgate.

Southgate has not taken on another job since leaving his post at the Three Lions following Euro 2024.

He had previously been considered a contender to replace Rúben Amorim at Manchester United when Amorim was sacked.

And he has been tipped for a Premier League job in the future too, with this summer a potential time for him to return.

But with the job at Leicester now available, Southgate could be tempted to make an unexpected return to the touchline.

However, as the Foxes are now battling against relegation from the Championship, is the job too much of a drop down for him?

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The 55-year-old has only ever managed Middlesbrough at club level, taking charge of his former side from 2006 to 2009.

It means it’s been 17 years since he last managed in domestic football, with his roles with England starting in 2013.

Southgate spent three years as the Three Lions’ U21 manager before then spending eight years as the senior side’s boss, reaching two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.

Dean Smith – 4/1

The other current joint-favourite to take over at Leicester is their former interim boss Dean Smith.

Smith would need to leave his job at Charlotte FC in the MLS – a role that he took up a few months after leaving the Foxes.

He only spent a matter of weeks at the King Power in 2023 to try and prevent relegation from the Premier League, but he was unsuccessful and they dropped down to the Championship on the final day.

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Steven Gerrard – 5/1

A huge name among the favourites for the Leicester job is Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard departed Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq by mutual consent in January 2025, and he has not taken a new role since.

He was linked to a return to Rangers after Russell Martin was sacked, but he turned down a move back to Ibrox.

The Premier League icon has also previously managed Aston Villa, in what has been his sole role in English football so far.

Villa sacked Gerrard in 2022, as he left the club after just under a year in charge, having won just 13 of his 40 games in charge.

His name has now emerged as a contender to join Leicester and potentially lead the fight against relegation from the Championship.

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Michael Skubala – 6/1

Another leading contender to head to the East Midlands is current Lincoln City manager, Michael Skubala.

And for Skubala, becoming Leicester manager would be a return home, as he was born in Leicestershire.

In fact, the 43-year-old started off as a PE teacher at Lutterworth College in the south of the county before going on to become director of football at Loughborough University.

Skubala, who has also managed Leeds‘ Under-21s and the Whites’ first team for a short period as caretaker, is now Lincoln boss.

Since taking over the club in November 2023, he has led a rise to see them challenging at the top of League One, winning 58 of his 124 games in charge.

Lincoln are sitting second in the third tier and look to be in prime position for automatic promotion to the Championship.

But due to his connection to Leicester, he may end up considering the switch to start a fight at the other end of the table with the former Premier League champions.