Brendan Rodgers: Celtic manager in talks with Leicester City over becoming new manager

Brendan Rodgers is speaking to Leicester City over becoming their new manager with Celtic accepting an approach from the Premier League club.

Rodgers, the former Liverpool and Swansea boss, has been linked with the position since Claude Puel was sacked on Sunday, following the Foxes’ 4-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace.

And Celtic have confirmed Rodgers, 46, is talking to Leicester over sealing a return to the Premier League after two-and-a-half years north of the border.

Kolo Toure and Chris Davies will follow Rodgers to the King Power Stadium as part of his coaching staff.

It is understood Neil Lennon will take charge of Celtic until the end of the season.

Rodgers has enjoyed remarkable success since taking charge of Celtic in May 2016, winning back-to-back Trebles of Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. He’s won 69.8 per cent of the matches he has been in charge of, losing on just 26 occasions from a possible 169.

At one stage Celtic went 69 domestic matches without suffering defeat, surpassing a 100-year-old British record to set a new record which will surely not be matched for some time.

Celtic have struggled in Europe under the Northern Irishman, however, crashing out the Champions League group stage in 2016/17 with a fourth place finish, before failing to make it past the Europa League’s round of 32 in both the previous and ongoing seasons.

Rodgers leaves Celtic with the Hoops eight points clear at the top of the Premiership table, ahead of second place Rangers, as they seek to make it eight successive league titles in a row.

Should Rodgers take the post at the King Power Stadium, he walks into a club currently sitting 12th in the Premier League – only eight points clear of the relegation places.

Rodgers returns to the country in which he has spent the majority of his coaching career, beginning as an academy coach for Reading having been forced to retire aged 20 due to a knee injury.

He eventually joined Chelsea’s academy upon Jose Mourinho’s appointment in 2004, and eventually progressed to the position of reserve team manager before leaving to become Watford manager in November 2008.

A year later he returned to Reading as boss but left after just six months with the club only one place above the Championship’s bottom three, but found another opportunity in the second tier with Swansea.

Appointed by the Swans in 2010, Rogers guided the Welsh club to promotion via the play-offs in his debut season, before they finished comfortably mid-table in the top flight the following campaign.

Liverpool came calling that summer, and in his second season at Anfield Rodgers developed the Reds into serious title contenders – as they finished second to Manchester City after a brilliant campaign spearheaded by the triumvirate of Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge.

However, Liverpool finished sixth the following term and he was sacked less than two months into the 2015/16 season after a 1-1 draw in the Merseyside derby.

He remained out the game until joining Celtic in summer 2016, but now returns to England with Leicester – who won the Premier League in the same season Rodgers was sacked by Liverpool.