Tony Mowbray has been out of work for almost a year.
Over a decade-and-a-half on from his infamous spell in charge of Celtic, the ex-Hoops defender still enjoys a solid reputation in English football.
That’s due to the numerous impressive jobs he has done in the EFL since, most notably at Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland.
In 2024, Mowbray left Birmingham for personal reasons, later confirming his battle with bowel cancer. He returned to management with West Brom last year, but was sacked just four months later.
But he could be about to make his return, with a surprise destination.
I want the next manager of Celtic to be…
Ex-Celtic boss Tony Mowbray a contender for Leicester City hotseat
Martin O’Neill had a glittering six years at Leicester from 1995 to 2001, before moving onto Celtic where he made even more history.
Brendan Rodgers made the opposite move in 2019, in very controversial circumstances which impacted the reaction to his return in 2023.
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Mowbray could now become the third man to manage both clubs, after the Foxes’ sacking of Marti Cifuentes this weekend.
That’s according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, who has listed him as a contender ‘in the minds’ of the hierarchy at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester are in a hole at the minute. Hamstrung in the transfer market after dreadful breaches of PSR rules, some have argued that Cifuentes had an impossible job.
Jamie Vardy and a host of other key players left the club in the summer, but others were forced to stay due to the fact that the club could not feasibly replace them.
Rather than mount a promotion push, they are instead struggling to make the play-offs. At the time of Cifuentes’ sacking, they sat in 14th place.
Gary Rowett, Lee Carsley and Russell Martin are all also in the running to take the reins at a club languishing in mid-table of the second tier just five years after opening one of the best training facilities in Europe.
How do you reflect on Tony Mowbray’s Celtic spell 15 years on?
Leicester’s ownership on sacking Marti Cifuentes
Speaking to the Telegraph in a rare interview, the club’s owner, known mononymously as Top, discussed their requirements for a new manager.
He said: “I think we have seen all season with him (Cifuentes), that some games are good, some games are bad. I think the fans are seeing the same and I am watching the same.
“I am questioning myself why we play well one game and then the next game so badly. It is like a different team.
“When changing the manager a lot of times, it’s not nice. I’m not a fan of that. But the life of a manager is results-based.
“I think it’s so clear when we got Enzo [Maresca] on board, what football we should play, and the type of player we should bring in.”
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