The fans at King Power Stadium are quite possibly done with the services of Claude Puel, who in an uninspiring fashion, has led Leicester City to just 2 wins in their last 12 Premier League games. The Foxes are lucky to be still in the top half of the league table which can be attributed to their winning run earlier in the season. It seems like a series of replacement are being considered for the 58-year-old and among them is Huddersfield Town’s David Wagner.
A former youth team coach of the Borussia Dortmund and 8-time United States Of America international, Wagner has earned rave reviews for his impressive work with the Terriers. The 46-year-old managed to get the West Yorkshire club promoted to the English top-flight after an arduous 48-year period. What seemed like a distant dream of the fans at Kirklees Stadium, the German managed to achieve it by putting up a solid fight in the playoffs with one of the smallest wage budgets in the entire Championship.
Naturally, questions were also raised about the team’s capabilities against the nation’s best in the Premier League. Wagner seemed to have answered that as well by keeping the team in the safe zone with 2 games still left in the regular season. The Terriers grinded out results wherever they could and proved themselves to be a resolute force.
The final stretch could prove to be tricky while matching up against Chelsea and Arsenal – both top-six sides with real title-winning-pedigrees.
Even if we consider a case where Huddersfield get relegated to the Championship within a single season, there should be no question over the achievements of Wagner. His style of play could very well be tested on the Leicester team who are filled with Premier League winners.
The Foxes quite recently managed to shock the world by grabbing hold of the 2015/16 league title. Since then, the road in the Premier League has been less than illustrious. Last season, Leicester finished in the 12th spot of the league and had to oversee the transition of three managers.
Many must have written them off to be a one-time lucky side who will never reach the heights of the 2015/16 campaign again. Judging by the competition cash-stacked sides like Manchester City and Manchester United are spraying all over the league, that might be so but finding a place in the top-six is still manageable.
Wagner is young, ambitious and seemingly a fast learner. He certainly is a manager worth hedging your bets on!
