Leicester asked Claudio Ranieri to return as manager before appointing Claude Puel
Foxes approached Premier League winning boss about amazing return to the King Power Stadium according to reports in Italy. Ranieri was sacked as Leicester manager eight months ago and replaced with Shakespeare.
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LEICESTER failed with a bid to tempt Claudio Ranieri into making a sensational return to the club as manager.
The Foxes last week appointed Claude Puel as their new boss following the sacking of Craig Shakespeare after a poor start to the season.
But reports in Italy claim before they turned to Puel the club asked Ranieri if he would be prepared to come back to the Premier League.
The Corriere dello Sport say the Italian took the call just as Shakespeare was being axed from his role three months into the season.
But Ranieri, who is now boss of French club Nantes, wasted no time in telling his former bosses he had no interest on working for them again.
Ranieri was only sacked in February, less than a year after he had guided the club to their stunning Premier League title success.
It was Shakespeare who replaced him in charge as caretaker before getting the job full time over the summer having performed well in temporary charge.
But once the club's Thai owners decided he was no longer up to the job, it appears they wanted to go back to the 66-year-old they had discarded earlier this year.
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It would have been a sensational development had they been able to tempt Ranieri back to the club after dumping him so quickly after his title triumph.
Instead they found themselves having to look elsewhere for a new man - eventually deciding on Frenchman Puel.
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The 56-year-old left Southampton at the end of last season having led the club to a top half finish and an EFL Cup final.
But Puel's pragmatic style of play led to frustration among the Saints supporters who wanted to see more attacking football from their side.
And his appointment by Leicester was hardly greeted with delight by the club's supporters who had seen the struggles of Southampton going forward last season.