Leicester City have named Martí Cifuentes as their new manager ahead of the 2025–26 Championship season. It’s a move that signals a clear shift in strategy and one that’s won applause from some fans while making others deeply nervous.
After last season’s relegation and another turbulent year in the dugout, the Foxes have opted for a tactician with a defined philosophy over a grizzled Championship veteran. So is this a clever reset, or a high-stakes roll of the dice for a club that has to go up?
A Coach With a Clear Identity
Cifuentes arrives from Queens Park Rangers, where he’s credited with transforming a struggling side into one that survived comfortably last season. Appointed in October 2023, he inherited a mess and brought structure, defensive organisation, and a more modern approach to pressing and possession.
He also has a track record of developing players, particularly from his successful spell at Hammarby IF in Sweden. There he implemented an eye-catching, high-tempo style that made the most of limited resources, winning plaudits for a bold approach that never abandoned principles even under pressure.
In short, he’s seen as a modern coach: detail-oriented, tactically flexible, and willing to bet on youth if they fit his ideas. That alone explains some of the appeal to Leicester City’s owners, who faced a decision this summer about the club’s entire footballing direction.
A Response to Last Season’s Failures
While fans don’t need reminding, it’s impossible to ignore the way last season unravelled.
Steve Cooper was appointed to steady the ship in the Premier League but his reign fell apart by late autumn as the Foxes slumped into crisis. Ruud van Nistelrooy then arrived and did what he could, but it was too late to avoid the drop.
In those chaotic months, Leicester often looked like a club without a plan. They were reactive in the transfer market, disjointed on the pitch, and unsure of what they wanted to be. Relegation wasn’t just a financial disaster. It was an existential blow to the club’s sense of itself, especially after recent memories of Premier League glory and European football.
Cifuentes is the board’s answer to that chaos. He’s not a short-term fire-fighter but a manager with a clear vision. The idea is that by giving him a project, they’ll establish a consistent style and culture that can survive promotion and avoid the panic that defined last season.
Why This Is Still a Big Gamble
For all the talk of vision and philosophy, there’s no question this is a risk.
Cifuentes has never managed a club of Leicester’s size or expectations. Keeping QPR up was an achievement, but managing a side expected to dominate the Championship week in, week out is a very different challenge. At Leicester, there’s no room to settle for mid-table respectability or moral victories for pretty football. Promotion isn’t just the goal, it’s the minimum expectation.
He’ll also face those demands with a squad in transition. Financial pressures loom large, not just because of the drop in revenue but due to Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that limit how much the club can spend relative to income. Leicester have already had to balance the books aggressively in the last two years, selling key players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to remain compliant.
PSR will shape every recruitment decision this summer. Even with parachute payments, they can’t simply buy their way out of trouble. That means sales are likely, especially for high earners or players attracting Premier League interest. Replacing that quality affordably, and quickly, will be essential if Cifuentes is to build a squad that matches his vision.
Squad Rebuild: Opportunity and Threat
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this appointment is what it signals for the squad.
While forced sales are a threat to stability, they also offer a rare chance for a root-and-branch rebuild. Cifuentes will likely prioritise technically strong, tactically disciplined players who suit pressing triggers and controlled possession. That could see the club lean more heavily on academy graduates and shrewd, lower-cost signings willing to buy into his methods.
It’s an approach that aligns with what Leicester’s owners have hinted they want: sustainability, identity, and a squad built to play the same way year after year. But the Championship is unforgiving, and such a rebuild needs time, time that may be in short supply if results stutter and fan patience runs thin.
Lessons From Last Season’s Chaos
Part of the rationale for choosing Cifuentes is the lesson the board claims to have learned from last year’s double-manager churn.
Cooper was pragmatic but uninspiring, failing to impose any consistent style. Van Nistelrooy brought more attacking intent but had too little time to embed his ideas. Leicester’s hierarchy does not want to repeat a cycle of incompatible managers, each demanding their own rebuild, draining money, and delivering no long-term vision.
Cifuentes represents a commitment to a defined playing style and culture. But to make it work, the club will need to get recruitment right under PSR constraints, ensure the dressing room buys in, and resist the urge to panic at the first sign of trouble.
Can Cifuentes Win Over the Fans?
Initial reaction among supporters has been mixed.
Many admire what he did at QPR with limited resources and like the idea of playing a more defined, modern style. Others are wary of gambling on a relative unknown instead of hiring someone with a proven Championship promotion on their CV.
The financial situation adds another layer of anxiety. Fans know PSR compliance is non-negotiable, but they also want to see ambition. No one wants a selling club with no clear plan to get back up.
Cifuentes will need a fast start to calm nerves and buy the time he needs to implement his ideas.
The Verdict: A Bold Bet That Needs Backing
This is an ambitious appointment.
Leicester City could have gone safe. They could have hired someone with encyclopaedic knowledge of the Championship, who’d play direct football and grind out 1–0 wins if that’s what promotion required. Instead, they’ve bet on philosophy over pragmatism, on a coach with ideas over a manager with a Championship medal collection.
Cifuentes’ football can be effective and attractive, but it needs buy-in from players, patience from supporters, and, critically, smart recruitment. Even after expected sales, Leicester should have the resources to build one of the division’s strongest squads.
But to avoid repeating last season’s chaos, they’ll need unity, clarity, and the bravery to back this project through the bumps. Is this the smart long-term reset Leicester need? Or the kind of idealistic move that can go badly wrong in the harsh reality of the Championship?
Either way, one thing is certain: this appointment will define the club’s direction and its future.
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