Leicester City are looking at a return to the Championship, and Russell Martin has emerged as a potential candidate as manager.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s future with the Foxes is up in the air with Leicester now considering Martin as a potential replacement for the Dutch manager, who has been a huge disappointment at the King Power Stadium since joining in November.
With another season in the Championship on the horizon, identifying a new manager as soon as possible could go a long way in Leicester competing for the title and winning promotion straight back up to the Premier League under Martin.
And here are three players Martin could consider signing for Leicester if the 39-year-old English-born coach is appointed by the East Midlands side ahead of next season.
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Adam Armstrong
Leicester need to be ambitious in the summer regardless of who comes in as manager, so it seems only fitting to start off with a player who played a massive role in getting Martin’s Southampton back into the Premier League in Adam Armstrong.
Currently out on loan with Championship side West Bromwich Albion, Armstrong was influential for Russell in the Saints winning promotion to the top-flight, with the former Newcastle United man scoring the winning goal in the play-off final against Leeds United.
With Southampton likely to sell and Leicester in desperate need of firepower upfront, Armstrong ticks all the boxes for the Foxes in what they want in a new talismanic striker, with Martin the manager who can get the best out of the 28-year-old.
Ryan Manning
Despite being one of the youngest managers in the English game, it hasn’t taken long for Martin to settle on some favourites, with Southampton defender Ryan Manning exactly one of those having played for the 39-year-old at two different clubs.
The Republic of Ireland international has been a regular for Southampton this season when available, with Manning also making well over 100 appearances playing under Martin with both the Saints and with Swansea.
And if Martin is to take over at Leicester, there could be a temptation to bring Manning to the King Power Stadium, especially with the left-back position in as desperate need of repair as it currently is in the Foxes squad.
Olivier Ntcham
Leicester’s squad will be in for a massive overhaul this summer, with every position likely to see big changes ahead of another year back in the Championship where the main mission will be to build a team that can go up automatically and then thrive in the Premier League.
And one former Martin player who can tick both boxes is Olivier Ntcham, with the former Swansea City star currently plying his trade in Turkey with Samsunspor, who currently sit third in the Turkish Super Lig with the versatile midfielder playing a key role for the Red Lightning.
Although swapping European football for the Championship could be a hard sell, Leicester’s reputation and the chance to reunite with Martin could lead to Ntcham making the move back to the United Kingdom, where the midfielder could become a new star player for the Foxes.