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WELSH WISHES
Former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper edges closer to return to management with Premier League club
Meanwhile, one of the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders has been linked with the Burnley job
STEVE COOPER has indicated he WOULD accept the Leicester job - if offered the role.
The Welshman has been out of work since being sacked by Nottingham Forest last season.
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But he remains one of the most highly regarded British coaches in the game, and is now edging ever nearer to a move to the King Power Stadium.
Former Nottingham Forest manager Cooper has declined the opportunity to pursue the Burnley job, which is vacant following Vincent Kompan's move to Bayern Munich.
Welshman Cooper has been out of work since being sacked by Forest in December and is instead aiming for a return to the Premier League.
The Foxes are searching for a new manager after Enzo Maresca’s shock switch to Chelsea, which is close to being officially confirmed.
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The Leicester board see Cooper, 44, as a candidate who can bring an attractive brand of football with him.
They also think he can meet the main priority for next season which is Premier League survival.
Cooper would be given a budget to spend, but the Leicester board also believe the Welshman will be able to work with the current squad and further improve them.
Cooper, who is settled in the Midlands, would need to win over Leicester fans who enjoy a fierce rivalry with Nottingham Forest.
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But he’s now the bookies favourite and a deal could be tied up as quickly next week.
Our story comes days after reports emerged claiming Cooper had rejected the chance to take the Burnley job.
Meet Pep Guardiola disciple Enzo Maresca
Kompany has completed a shock move to Bayern Munich, who let go of Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season.
Cooper was in the frame, but is holding out for a Premier League side.
Ex Chelsea and Everton coach Frank Lampard would be interested in taking over at Turf Moor should the opportunity arise.
SunSport also understands Alan Pardew is an early contender to take over at Burnley.
Why Leicester fans WON'T miss Maresca
IT IS fair to say most Leicester fans were not exactly pleading with Maresca to stay, writes Graeme Bryce
OK, they were not queueing up and offering to drive him to Stamford Bridge.
But there will not be too many tears shed or much wailing at the King Power either.
The fans’ attitude to losing their incredibly successful boss could be summed up in a word: ‘Meh’.
Maresca failed to win over the paying public who never really took to his patient, possession-based style of football.
Having been brought up — some would say spoiled — by the swashbuckling title winners of 2016, with Jamie Vardy spearheading manager Claudio Ranieri’s shock champions, Maresca never really got off the ground at the King Power.
So it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s notoriously impatient fans make of Maresca’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’ style of play.
It was not long before some of the old-school Leicester fans started moaning that Maresca’s patient, play-out-from-the-back style was becoming too boring to watch.
During a 3-1 win over Swansea which left them ten points clear at the top, there were moans and groans coming from the stands amid cries of, ‘Get the ball forward’.
Fans accused him of stubbornly sticking to his Plan A — even when it was not working — and claimed he was way too slow to make substitutions.
But one thing Blues fans can look forward to is his man-management and his attention to detail.
And the Foxes players also adored their manager.
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