"I spoke to a lot of people" - Exclusive: Lee Hendrie drops exciting Leicester City, Marti Cifuentes claim | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has told FLW his verdict on Martí Cifuentes' impending arrival at Leicester City

Lee Hendrie believes that Martí Cifuentes will be well-equipped to take on the difficult task of taking over at Leicester City.

It has been reported by The Telegraph that the Spaniard is set to be appointed as their latest head coach ahead of their return to the Championship.

The Foxes suffered relegation after just one year in the Premier League, coming 18th in the table under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Cifuentes spent a season-and-a-half in charge at QPR, leading them to 18th and 15th place finishes in the Championship before being placed on gardening leave earlier this summer.

Lee Hendrie gives Martí Cifuentes to Leicester verdict

Hendrie is confident that Cifuentes could be a good fit for Leicester, praising the work he did at QPR, in particular the belief he instilled in their younger players.

He has warned that the size of the task at hand may be bigger than people expect, but that he will view a move to the Foxes as a chance to gain promotion to the Premier League regardless.

“He’s sort of gone under the radar a little bit,” Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

“I spoke to a lot of people about his approach and how he goes about his training and his methods and his style.

“To be quite honest, I think that they knew this was going to happen, that he was going to end up leaving the football club at some stage, it was just a matter of when.

“What I do like about him, and what he proved at QPR — I know he didn’t have much choice — he wasn’t afraid of playing his younger players, giving them the opportunity.

“I think that’s where we’ve seen QPR start to lift, start to go again, because he gave a lot of belief in the youngsters.

“I think he’s got a big job on his hands, without a doubt.

“But, I don’t think he’ll be afraid to look further afield, the younger quality that may be around the squad.

“I think this was inevitable this was going to happen, it’s just where he was going to go, and obviously he’s looking at Leicester as a possible promotion to the Premier League, which I think most managers would be rubbing their hands at.

“As I said, lots of people I know worked with him and sung his praises of how good he was around the changing room and with his players.”

Leicester will get their Championship season underway on 10 August with a home clash against Sheffield Wednesday.

Cifuentes appointment is what Leicester need

Leicester losing Enzo Maresca last summer was a real blow, as the Italian had given the team a tactical identity and a path forward.

Steve Cooper and Van Nistelrooy both struggled, with their style of play simply not suitable to the squad available.

Cifuentes should be able to provide a bit of a reset now that they’re back in the Championship, and he’s proven himself a flexible and tactically astute coach.

This has the potential to be a smart appointment, and could be just what the club needs going into the new season.