Leicester City have now finally waved goodbye to Enzo Maresca occupying the Foxes hot seat, with his major move to Chelsea now confirmed, bringing the curtain down on a stellar Championship season in a subdued fashion.
The hunt is now well and truly underway for the Italian manager's successor in the East Midlands, therefore, with many names being talked up as replacements now for the title-winning 44-year-old.
So, who is one of the more intriguing candidates?
Leicester looking at "tremendous" new boss
It has been reported recently that ex-Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper is in the running to be Leicester's next boss ahead of the step-up to the Premier League, potentially angering Forest fans in the process with the Foxes a close rival geographically.
The Sun has further stated that the Welshman would likely accept a job post at the King Power if offered the role, jumping back into management for the first time since being axed from his City Ground post back in December 2023 in the process.
How Cooper could make Fatawu even better
With the likelihood that Abdul Fatawu will make his loan spell with the Foxes permanent also another development coming out of the club – with promotion meaning they had a £14.5m obligation to make the move happen – the standout 20-year-old could be licking his lips at the prospect of working under Cooper.
That is the case when you look at what the ex-Forest manager got out of Brennan Johnson – who operated predominantly down Fatawu's trusty right-wing during his tenure – before his jaw-dropping £47.5m move to Tottenham Hotspur occurred, meaning the slick 5 foot 10 attacker could even get better in the division above.
Johnson would regularly set the Championship ablaze under the tutelage of Cooper, before going on to sign for Spurs, with 19 goals and nine assists coming under the Welsh boss during Forest's promotion-winning 2021/22 campaign.
Fatawu's numbers do fall somewhat short of Johnson's glittering statistics when comparing the two, with a lesser 19 goal contributions managed in league action for the 20-year-old, but his role wasn't as key with the likes of Stephy Mavididi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jamie Vardy stealing the limelight away from the youngster.
Games played
40
46
Goals scored
6
16
Assists
13
10
Shots*
1.9
1.9
Goal conversion %
8%
19%
Big chances missed
0
3
Big chances created
32
15
Key passes*
1.7
1.3
Looking at the table, Cooper will try and unearth a deadlier finisher out of Fatawu next season, with the 44-year-old excelling when moving Johnson to a striker role on occasion, but could still raise his new star's cutting edge in front of goal from down the wings seen in his blistering hat-trick against Southampton in April, with the 20-year-old only needing four shots on target to cause havoc.
The in-demand boss – who was once described as being "tremendous" by Sam Allardyce during his spell with Forest – also managed to make the step-up a division look seamless for his former attacking talent, turning him into a £40m+ superstar subsequently.
Also, being able to keep Forest up in his first season before being ditched from the City Ground after promotion means the Leicester hierarchy won't be too worried about an immediate relegation back down, hopeful that the 44-year-old can be a success at the King Power with Fatawu an even bigger joy to watch after signing permanently.
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