Leicester City’s appointment of Brendan Rodgers as Claude Puel’s replacement is likely to be met with a mixed reception across the UK.
Celtic begrudgingly allowed their manager to speak to the Foxes about the vacancy at the King Power Stadium, despite the Hoops chasing another domestic treble.
On one hand, Celtic fans will be disappointed to hear their manager is leaving at such a crucial time while Leicester fans are likely to be thrilled by such an ambitious appointment.
After being sacked by Liverpool in 2015, the Northern Irishman has rebuilt his reputation north of the border and reaffirmed Celtic’s status as Scotland’s biggest club.
However, as Rangers boss Steven Gerrard pointed out, the lure of managing in the Premier League once again has proved to be too strong.
And with Foxes fans’ becoming disillusioned with Puel’s negative style of play, the move seems like a perfect fit.
‘LEAVING CELTIC FOR LEICESTER WOULD BE STEP UP FOR BRENDAN RODGERS’
With his style of play the perfect blend of ‘Tiki-Taka’ and ‘Total Football’, Leicester fans can afford to get just a tad excited about the appointment of Rodgers.
So just how could the former Chelsea and Reading coach change Leicester’s fortunes?
Scroll down to see just how Leicester could look under the management of the 46-year-old.
LIVERPOOL 13/14: Poetry in Motion
Before Gerrard’s slip, before ‘Crystanbul’ and before Suarez’s £75million switch to Spain, Brendan Rodgers brought Liverpool agonisingly close to their first ever Premier League title.
After a difficult first season in charge at Anfield, Rodgers brought in Daniel Sturridge to play alongside the Uruguay international and Steven Gerrard subsequently dropped into a deep-lying midfield role.
The result was phenomenal as the Reds almost romped to the title, with the high-pressing and high tempo style of play forcing opposition teams into relinquishing the ball.
Bringing the tenacious Shinji Okazaki back to initiate the press would allow the likes of James Maddison and Youri Tielemans to create from deep. Expect to see Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira be given the license to bomb forward at will and youngster Hamza Choudhury also given a chance.
TOTAL FOOTBALL: Winging It
Before opting to go for a 4-1-2-1-2 at Liverpool, Rodgers tried to use a 4-3-3 formation which had been so successful for him at Swansea City in their promotion to the Premier League in 2011.
The emphasis in that side was for the likes of Stephen Dobbie and Danny Graham up front to run in behind defences to allow Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair to cut inside and cause havoc from the wings.
With Joe Allen and Darren Pratley providing the perfect balance of creativity and grit in the midfield, the Swans secured an 11th-placed finish in their debut top-flight campaign.
Demarai Gray and Rachid Ghezzal have shown glimpses of their potential this season, so expect to see Rodgers (a strong advocate of using youngsters in his team’s) entrust the wingers to exploit the spaces created y the rapid Jamie Vardy.
THE ‘DOUBLE TREBLE’ TACTIC: Wing-backs galore
It’s fair to say Rodgers revitalised Celtic when he arrived in 2016, securing an impressive hat-trick of trophies in his first season.
Incredible, the 46-year-old managed to repeat the feat again last season, but it was his tactical nous and ingenuity which impressed critics.
In the Old Firm victory at the start of this season, the Bhoys manipulated their 4-4-1-1 formation to confound Rangers by having at least four players in between the lines of their defensive structure in central areas.
With Harry Maguire at the back on his preferred left-hand side, Rodgers already has the outlet he needs to play out from the back via diagonal lines to get in behind the lines.
M&M MADNESS: Maddison and Maguire roam free
A slight variation on the formation above, but by playing Tielemans alongside Wilfred Ndidi, it would allow James Maddison that extra bit of space the playmaker needs.
It has been a difficult campaign for everyone involved with Leicester City, but the summer acquisition from Norwich City has been a real plus.
The 22-year-old’s link up play with Vardy has been impressive and, with the wing-backs pushed further up the pitch because of the midfield cover, the England international could pull the strings.
Again, Maguire would benefit from this system as the extra man in midfield would allow the former Sheffield United man to rampage up the pitch in his indomitable style.