Football
Exclusive: Chris Wilder Emerges as Shock Contender for Leicester Job After Sheffield United Exit
Former Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is reportedly eyeing a return to management with Leicester City. Wilder, known for his promotion winning credentials, has admirers at Leicester City and could potentially replace Ruud van Nistelrooy. Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is also seeking a job with The Foxes, amid financial troubles at Hillsborough.
Sheffield United v Bristol City - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi Final Second Leg by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA | Getty Images
Chris Wilder could be offered a quick return to management with one of his former club’s Championship rivals.
Less than a month after parting company with play-off finalists Sheffield United, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal that Wilder boasts a number of admirers behind the scenes at Leicester City who are impressed by his promotion winning credentials.
Intriguingly, Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is known to be courting a job with The Foxes having grown disillusioned by the situation at Sheffield Wednesday.
Wilder led United to two victories over their arch-rivals last term, as his squad went on to reach the play-off final.
City are searching for a new manager after Ruud van Nistelrooy left the KP Stadium following their relegation from the Premier League – only six months after being unveiled as Steve Cooper’s successor.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD
Wilder, aged 57, boasts a proven track record of leading teams up having steered United from the third to the first tier of English football during his first spell in charge at Bramall Lane.
He then took them to within a whisker of qualifying for Europe before taking charge of United for a second time in December 2023.
Despite seeing his employers deducted two points at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign, Wilder was on the cusp of securing yet another promotion until United, who led until the closing stages, suffered an agonising defeat to Sunderland at Wembley in May.
He subsequently left the role when new owners, COH Sports, signalled they wanted to use Artificial Intelligence to decide recruitment targets.
Although Wilder is not averse to using AI – indeed he positively encourages staff to embrace technology – he wanted to ensure people, not computers, ultimately decided acquisitions.
Having previously been linked with Southampton, Rohl is actively searching for new opportunities amid a growing financial crisis at Hillsborough.
The German has yet to return to Wednesday, as his relationship with chairman Dejphon Chansiri grows increasingly strained.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.