Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is set to ‘resist interest’ from Newcastle United, in the hope of replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in the near future.
Following the recent high profile takeover of Newcastle was confirmed last week, speculation has been rife as to who the new owners will appoint as manager, with current boss Steve Bruce seemingly heading for the exit door after a rocky stint in charge of his hometown team.
One of the frontrunners to replace him has been Rodgers, with the Foxes’ boss having worked wonders to turn the club into regular top-four contenders in recent seasons, albeit with his side falling at the final hurdle in each of the last two campaigns.
The Northern Irishman had previously narrowly missed out on taking Liverpool to the title during his three-year stint at Anfield, before he enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Scottish giants Celtic, in which he memorably guided the club to an unbeaten domestic campaign during the 2016/17 treble-winning season.
According to the Mail, while the 48-year-old is a leading candidate to lead the ambitious project that is set to get underway at St James’ Park, he is set to ‘resist interest’ from the club, amid hopes of securing the Manchester City job in 18 months’ time.
The report suggests that Rodgers would be on a shortlist of names to replace current City boss Guardiola at the end of next season – when his contract at the Etihad expires – having previously been in the running to take over from Roberto Mancini back in 2013.
The Leicester boss is said to have concerns with decisions made at his current club, ‘specifically regarding recruitment’, and has seen his side struggle so far this term, although it would appear he is no rush to jump ship just yet, particularly after having won the FA Cup last season.
Even if he had shown an interest in replacing Bruce on Tyneside, the report goes on to add that the Magpies’ new owners are sceptical about upsetting the apple cart by pinching the manager of a rival Premier League club.
