Ex-Tottenham star in pole position to be next Leicester City manager as Marti Cifuentes faces sack ultimatum
Michael Carrick has been installed as the favourite to take charge of Leicester City if they sack Marti Cifuentes in the coming days.
Carrick, who made 75 total appearances for Tottenham between 2004 and 2006, has been out of work since being sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of last season.
After Ange Postecoglou was axed by Daniel Levy in the summer, Carrick was briefly a candidate to be the new Tottenham boss before Thomas Frank took over.
Carrick was also listed in the running to take charge at Celtic after Brendan Rodgers left the Scottish champions in October.
Michael Carrick bookies’ favourite to be new Leicester manager
The 44-year-old former England midfielder is now in pole position to take charge at Leicester as their form continues to worsen in the Championship.
According to Football Insider on Tuesday, Leicester have given Cifuentes an ultimatum – secure a favourable result against Derby this weekend or go.
The Foxes are currently 16th in the Championship and have won just three of their last 14 league fixtures, most recently a 3-2 home defeat to fellow strugglers Sheffield United.
One major bookmaker has opened the market on who could replace Cifuentes, with Carrick installed as the 6/4 favourite.
Former Rangers and Southampton manager Russell Martin (2/1) and ex-Spurs striker Robbie Keane, who is impressing in charge at Ferencvaros (4/1) are also in the running.
Gary O’Neil (5/1), Kevin Muscat (6/1) and Martin O’Neill (8/1) are slight outsiders in comparison to the front-runners.
What’s been said about Michael Carrick’s managerial career?
Middlesbrough appointed Carrick as their manager in October 2022 when they were 21st in the Championship table.
He managed to oversee an impressive rise up the standings, achieving a fourth-placed finish before Boro lost to Coventry in the play-off semi-finals.
Unfortunately for Carrick, it was all downhill from there as they finished eighth the following season before slumping to 10th last term before he was axed.
Carrick’s Middlesbrough record:
- Matches: 136
- Wins: 63
- Draws: 24
- Losses: 49
- Goal difference: +43
- Points per game: 1.57
Ex-Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho previously said Carrick “has qualities that we believe can make him a good coach” when the former midfielder was a coach alongside him at Manchester United.
Middlesbrough’s previous director of football Kieran Scott said Carrick is “calculated” and “calm”, while Vincent Kompany said: “His brain and the way he thinks is definitely something that makes him stand out, not just as a manager, but also when he was a player as well.
“I understand why people will put the two of us together, but I think it’s difficult to draw comparisons between us because we are all on our own trajectory. I look at Michael Carrick and I am impressed with what he is doing.”
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