It’s a new dawn for Wilfred Ndidi, the powerhouse Nigerian midfielder, as Leicester City welcomes a new face to the dugout. Cifuentes is officially taking the reins, stepping in after Ruud van Nistelrooy’s seven-month stint ended with the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship.
Cifuentes, 43, has inked a two-year deal with an option for an additional year at the King Power Stadium. You might remember him from his time at Queen’s Park Rangers. Interestingly, he was on gardening leave after chatting with West Bromwich Albion about their coaching vacancy – a job that ultimately went to Ryan Mason.
Here’s a neat tidbit: Leicester forked over £500,000 to QPR for Cifuentes, but get this – he actually paid half of that himself by giving up some of his wages and signing-on fee. Talk about commitment! It shows just how excited he is about the project, even with Leicester facing tight finances and a possible points deduction for alleged financial rule breaches.
It also looks like the Foxes will need to sell some players before they can bring in new talent this summer. Cifuentes is set to get things rolling with a friendly against Leicester’s sister club, OH Leuven, this Saturday. Then, it’s off to Austria next Wednesday for a pre-season training camp. Mark your calendars: Leicester kicks off their Championship season at home against Sheffield Wednesday on August 10th
