Whilst Ipswich Town and Southampton are both already looking ahead to a potentially positive season in the Premier League, with Kieran McKenna and Russell Martin both still at their respective helms, Leicester City are eagerly hunting out Enzo Maresca's successor before any talk of the future takes over.
The Foxes have been linked with a long list of names since the Italian walked out of the King Power Stadium for the Chelsea vacancy, as they look to finally appoint his replacement shortly.
The blow of losing a manager that just clinched the Championship title for the East Midlands outfit would no doubt be softened if an ambitious appointment gets over the line, with a target funnily enough occupying the Stamford Bridge hot-seat himself in his last job post.
Leicester talking to ambitious Maresca successor
According to TalkSPORT, Leicester director John Rudkin is 'pushing hard' to get a deal in motion for Graham Potter to be the next Foxes manager, with the newly promoted side also allegedly speaking to the former Chelsea manager's agent.
This would be an ambitious swoop if pulled off by the recent Championship title winners, considering Potter was reportedly in the running for a spectacular return to Brighton and Hove Albion not too far back, alongside the fact his last role was at Chelsea way up the division compared to Leicester aiming for survival as a minimum next campaign.
Yet, after his time in West London saw his glowing managerial reputation take somewhat of a battering – with a turbulent spell at Chelsea seeing him pick up a lacklustre 12 wins from 31 games – Potter might well welcome any job opening he can get, to remind everyone of his prowess away from the Blues misfire.
How Potter is a Maresca upgrade
He could well be the perfect manager for Leicester at this point in time, therefore, considering the 49-year-old managed to consolidate the Seagulls as a Premier League club when in charge of the South Coast outfit.
Alongside this, he has also masterminded three wins against the Foxes in his managerial career to date, with a view to now managing in the King Power dug-out instead of getting the better of them.
Game
Date
Result
1. Leicester vs Chelsea
March 11th 2023
3-1 Chelsea W
2. Brighton vs Leicester
September 4th 2022
5-2 Brighton W
3. Brighton vs Leicester
September 19th 2021
2-1 Brighton W
Sourced byTransfermarkt
Despite Maresca being a disciple of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, having once been on the backroom staff at the current Premier League champions, Potter has been showered with praise by the serial winner in the past away from the Italian boss, with the Spaniard once labelling him as an "outstanding" manager.
That praise was justified as well, particularly when considering his remarkable record with Ostersunds in Sweden, taking them from the fourth tier to the top division. It really is the stuff of dreams.
He's more than proven himself in English football too, the 49-year-old managing to steer the Seagulls to a ninth-place finish during the 2021/22 season, their highest-ever position in the elite division before Roberto De Zerbi walked into the building following Potter's ill-fated switch to Chelsea.
He will want to do the same for a Leicester side that has recovered from their nightmarish drop down to the Championship well, with everything in place still for the Foxes to move back up to the Premier League and thrive, even with Maresca upping and leaving.
Potter's appointment could be enough for the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to stay put ahead of the next top-flight season, knowing that the ex-Brighton boss could get Leicester back to their previous heady heights, which saw them lift the FA Cup only a matter of years ago alongside that infamous Premier League title success.
With Maresca also dividing opinion whilst at Leicester, despite lifting the second-tier title under his tenure, the time could well be right for a brand-new re-set in the East Midlands, with Potter potentially the man ready to lead the Foxes back into the Premier League.
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