Ex-QPR boss Cifuentes appointed Leicester manager

Marti Cifuentes' first Championship game will be against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, 10 August

Leicester City have named former Queens Park Rangers head coach Marti Cifuentes as their manager on a three-year deal.

The 43-year-old Spaniard replaces Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Foxes' helm with less than a month until the season starts.

Cifuentes takes charge of a Leicester side that finds itself in the Championship for the second time in three years, having been immediately relegated from the Premier League after going up as second-tier title winners under Enzo Maresca in 2024.

Cifuentes now joins Maresca, who left Leicester after promotion to take the job at Chelsea, as one of the six permanent managers the Foxes have had in just over two years.

Just as the Italian was tasked with returning the East Midlands club to the top flight during his tenure, promotion will also be expected of Cifuentes.

In his time at QPR, the Spaniard, for whom the Foxes will pay Rangers an undisclosed compensation fee, oversaw 18th and 15th-placed finishes.

Leicester say they feel the Spaniard will bring "a modern, progressive footballing philosophy" to the club, while chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha says that Cifuentes "is an excellent fit".

"We felt strongly that bringing him to the club would help us to create the success we all want in the years ahead," Srivaddhanaprabha added.

Cifuentes took charge of QPR when they were second-from-bottom in the Championship in October 2023 and escaping relegation was first asked of him at Loftus Road.

His latest campaign ended with him on gardening leave after the Hoops suffered a 5-0 defeat by already-promoted Burnley in April.

'A great honour'

At the time, Cifuentes was also being linked to a move away from the west London club.

It was not until late June, two months after being stood down, that the former Hammarby boss officially parted ways with QPR.

He was seen as a popular figure among Hoops fans, but was also viewed as a head coach that only got "streaky" results out of his side.

His appointment at Leicester, however, is seen a shift back to Maresca's approach to the game, with the Spaniard sharing the Italian's possession-heavy, high-pressing style.

Cifuentes has described taking on the job at the King Power Stadium as "a great honour".

"This is a fantastic club with a proud history and it's a privilege to me to be asked to help write the next chapter," he said.

Cifuentes has had eclectic coaching career to date, with a spell working at Ajax's famed youth academy in the Netherlands in 2007 followed by a stint at Millwall, before he went on to coach in Spain's lower leagues.

He relocated his coaching career to Scandinavia after that, working in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, where he guided Hammarby to a third place top-flight finish in 2022.

Less than a month to get to know players

Cifuentes takes the Leicester job on almost 10 years to the day after Claudio Ranieri became what would be the most famous managerial appointment in the club's history.

In his only full season at Leicester, the Italian miraculously guided the little fancied Foxes to the Premier League title.

A decade on, and the anniversary of the club's most glorious achievement will be celebrated while they are in the second tier and up against numerous on and off-field issues.

Not only will Cifuentes have less than four weeks to get to know his players, it is also a squad that is yet to get attention since relegation.

Leicester legend Jamie Vardy left at the end of the campaign, and is yet to be replaced.

Just how much business the East Midlands club can do remains unclear, with Leicester charged with allegedly breaching the English Football League's financial rules when they won the Championship just over a year ago.

It also means that Cifuentes might also have a points penalty to deal with in the coming season.

The leadership that Cifuentes has previously shown when working in difficult situations, as well as his history in youth development and track record for promoting young talent, are understood to have appealed to Leicester's hierarchy as they approach what are sure to be trying times at the King Power Stadium.

'Work to do but little time'

BBC Radio Leicester's Jack Rafferty - Analysis

Nearly three months after relegation was confirmed and three weeks since Ruud van Nistelrooy eventually left the club, Leicester City finally have their man.

Marti Cifuentes arrives at King Power Stadium with plenty of work to do and not too long to get it done.

In terms of the football, I'm told we can expect something similar to the style implemented by Enzo Maresca during his time at the club, with possession a key focus.

That may have frustrated some of the Foxes fans, but we know it's a way of playing admired by the players who were part of the 2023-24 Championship winning team.

But with the squad off to Austria this week and the start of the new season less than four weeks away, time is already against Cifuentes to get his ideas across and his players ready. He also needs to target new recruits with not much money to play with.

The fans would have wanted this appointment confirmed much, much earlier. But hopefully now it's finally done, it's one they can get behind.