Forget Claude Puel: This German boss could be an ideal candidate for Leicester

Leicester City are reportedly interested in making Huddersfield’s David Wagner their next manager as they prepare to dismiss Claude Puel this month.

Puel is under immense pressure as the Foxes have won just 2 of their last 12 league games, including 4 defeats in the last five. This has led to talks of the Frenchman being axed and replaced by Wagner.

Wagner led the Terriers to the Premier League last season on one of the smallest budgets in the Championship.

Wagner has earned a lot of admirers across the globe due to the style of play and personality he has instilled into the club. His attacking and full-throttle style of play revitalised Huddersfield, helping them earn promotion from the Championship. It is very easy to like his tactics and manners.

Having coached the Dortmund second-team in 2011 before leaving them in 2015 to take charge of the Terriers, Wagner’s experience at Dortmund has influenced his philosophy. One of the first things you will notice is the way Wagner’s team presses from the onset of the game.

The German often prefers a 4-2-3-1 system, which allows the team to play the aggressive energetic pressing style that most young and dynamic managers are playing today. His team presses the opposition as soon as they lose possession, which forces the opposition to either go long or pass quickly to the teammates. Wagner instructs his players to operate with more freedom, particularly the front-four players.

Wagner is a wholehearted advocate of Klopp’s ‘heavy metal’ football. That’s the philosophy he has used in building the Huddersfield side, most notably beating Manchester United 2-1 and very recently eking a point against champions Manchester City.

The more Wagner achieves, the reputation goes far and wide and the more tempting the offers he will get. Currently, Leicester are looking at him to replace the under-fire Puel, whose possession-based style of play has caused discontent amongst the fans. While Puel’s tactics and organisation have failed miserably, Leicester have failed to score in their last three games (at the time of writing), which is actually worrisome.

Leicester City fans will be dying to see a manager come up with the counter-attacking style of play that won them the title in 2015-16 under Claudio Ranieri. To get the same buzz and exciting brand of football, there is no one better manager than Wagner to replace Puel at King Power Stadium.