Leicester have confirmed Marti Cifuentes as their new manager. Cifuentes replaces Ruud van Nistelrooy, who left the King Power Stadium after seven months in charge following the Foxes relegation to the Championship.
Cifuentes has signed a two-year deal at the King Power Stadium, with the option of a further year. The 43-year-old was at fellow second-tier club Queens Park Rangers but at the end of June after being placed on gardening having held talks with West Bromwich Albion over their head coach vacancy.
Cifutentes was not given the job, with Ryan Mason taking over instead. Transfer Centre LIVE!Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next seasonLeicester have paid a £500,000 fee in compensation to QPR – with Cifuentes paying exactly half of that by foregoing some of the wages and the signing-on fee he is due from the Foxes.
Effectively, Cifuentes is taking a pay cut to take charge at the Midlands club. The Spanish head coach was happy to do so and offered that to his new employers – because he is excited by the project, albeit with finances very tight at Leicester, and with the prospect of a points deduction looming over the club for alleged PSR breaches.
Leicester are also likely to have to sell players before they can buy any new recruits this summer. The new Foxes manager is in line take charge of the team for the behind-closed-doors friendly against Leicesters sister club, OH Leuven, on Saturday, before they head to Austria on Wednesday for a pre-season training camp.
Leicesters Championship season starts on August 10 with a home game against Sheffield Wednesday. Leicesters first six games of the seasonAugust 10: Sheffield Wednesday (H), Championship, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports August 13: Huddersfield (A), EFL Cup first round, kick-off 7.
45pm, live on Sky Sports August 16: Preston (A), Championship, kick-off 3pm August 23: Charlton (A), Championship, kick-off 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports August 29: Birmingham (H), Championship, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports September 13: Oxford Utd (A), Championship, kick-off 12.
30pm, live on Sky Sports
