Leicester City could be about to lose manager Enzo Maresca after just one season in charge.
That is because – having secured an instant return to the Premier League for Leicester – Maresca is now reportedly in talks with Chelsea over their vacant managerial post.
Whilst it may be understandable that Maresca wants to hear what Chelsea have to say given their status as an elite club, it is disappointing that the Argentine manager could leave the club that gave him just his second opportunity as a senior manager so quickly.
A number of names have already been mentioned as potential replacements for Maresca if he does take over from Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea, such as Graham Potter, Carlos Corberan and even Will Still.
However, Leicester could be best off instead making a move for another manager who has a point to prove.
Leicester should target Steve Cooper if Enzo Maresca leaves
That manager is Steve Cooper, who has been out of work since his Nottingham Forest sacking in December.
Many at the time felt Cooper’s dismissal was harsh, but a run of one win in 13 matches left them hanging precariously above the relegation zone.
Whilst this has tarnished the Welsh coach’s reputation, the job he did prior to that should not be forgotten, as he took a Forest side from bottom of the Championship to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2021/22.
An influx of players followed that summer, with 21 players signed upon promotion and Sam Allardyce felt at the time that Cooper deserved enormous credit for how he handled the situation.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tippy Football Podcast in March 2023, the former West Ham United manager was full of praise for the job Cooper was doing, as he said: “If Nottingham Forest survive relegation, Steve Cooper has definitely done the best job of all the managers in the Premier League this season.”
“What becomes difficult in terms of building team spirit is having too many players. Most managers don’t have enough. What they don’t have enough of is quality, and what they don’t want is quantity.
“Steve is one of the only managers to say he has too many players. Dealing with that can distract your focus. You want to keep them all involved and use them if you can and see what they’ve got, but ultimately, it’s a very tough decision.
“Steve has done an incredible job dealing with these issues as well as getting good results.”
Why is Cooper a better option than Carlos Corberan or Graham Potter?
Whilst Potter is said to be a manager that Leicester have a long-standing admiration for, his approach can take a long time to implement and the Foxes may not have that luxury if they are to stay up.
Corberan on the other hand is an incredibly pragmatic manager, whose sides rarely play a particularly attractive brand of football but find ways to overcome different opponents.
Cooper represents a middle ground between the two.
Both Cooper’s Swansea City and Nottingham Forest sides played decent football, but they were also well-drilled and set up in different ways depending on what Cooper felt the game required.
Whilst he favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, Cooper has been known to play with a back three and his flexibility is a useful asset.
Perhaps most crucially, though, is the fact Cooper has recent experience of a top flight relegation battle and was successful in avoiding the drop in his first season with Forest.