Eriksson Sacked By Leicester

Sven Goran Eriksson was last night sacked from his £1m-a-year job at Leicester – just hours after telling his squad he was amazed to still be in charge. Sven Goran Eriksson paid the price for Leicester’s dismal start to the season with the boot and former manager Martin O’Neill has already emerged as the leading contender to replace him. The ex-England coach had called an emergency meeting with his entire Leicester squad yesterday morning and claimed he would have sacked the manager if he was the owner after their dismal 3-0 home defeat to Millwall. But Eriksson, 63, was given the grim news late yesterday afternoon by the club’s Thai owners and is set for another golden handshake – this time for around £1m with 12 months remaining on his current deal. Eriksson will walk out with another payout but his reputation tarnished after failing to fulfil the vast expectations of chairman Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn. Leicester coughed up a stunning £12m this summer in an attempt to build a squad capable of reaching the Premier League but Eriksson only managed five wins from 13 Championship games. Eriksson took steps to ease the tension by calling his players into a clear-the-air meeting yesterday. In the meeting he admitted he was surprised to still be in charge and then asked all the squad to write down what they thought was going wrong, after making them sit through a video nasty of Saturday’s shocking performance against Millwall. But hours later he was dismissed from his post, with assistant Derek Fazackerley also leaving the club. The club last night released a statement confirming the dismissals saying: “Leicester City Football Club has confirmed today that, by mutual agreement, Sven Goran Eriksson has ceased to be the first team manager, with immediate effect.

West Ham join chase for Beckford

West Ham are the latest club to show interest in Everton striker Jermaine Beckford but the 27-year-old wants to stay at Goodison. Everton have rejected a bid from Leicester while the player does not want to go to Nottingham Forest or Southampton.Manager David Moyes would be prepared to cash in on Beckford just a year after picking him up on a free from Leeds.Moyes has had little success trying to generate cash by offloading squad outcasts Yakubu and Joseph Yobo, and may sell Beckford if Leicester return with a bid closer to £6m.However, the 27-year-old former Chelsea trainee does not want to drop down to the Championship having worked his way up to the top flight from non-League Wealdstone.Beckford is adamant he can succeed in the Premier League and was the Blues’ joint-top scorer last season, albeit with only 10 goals in 38 appearances. However, Moyes was frustrated with him at times and would consider selling for the right price so he could add at least one new face this summer.

Brighton sign Mackail-Smith

Brighton have won the race to sign Peterborough's Craig Mackail-Smith for a fee which could rise to £3.25million.Leicester appeared favourites to capture the sought-after striker, who has signed a four-year deal, while West Ham also had a bid accepted by Peterborough for the 27-year-old.But the Seagulls have underlined their intentions for the forthcoming npower Championship campaign by beating the duo to Mackail-Smith's signature.Mackail-Smith started out at Dagenham & Redbridge and moved to Peterborough for an undisclosed fee in January 2007.He scored 99 goals for Posh during his four-and-a-half-year stay, including one in the 3-0 play-off final win over Huddersfield at Old Trafford in May.Poyet believes the capture of Mackail-Smith 'shows we want to go places'.He told the club's official website: 'Some thought it was a done deal that he would be heading elsewhere, but we got the player which is good, as it shows that we want to go places, to do better.'A signing like that can only help us as we try to bring more players in.
'He's a player that we can build our team around, which is why I was so keen to bring him here, and one of the most pleasing aspects for me is that we have signed him despite interest from some other big, big teams.
'When I first sat down with the chairman, Craig was at the top of my list, our number one target, so I'm absolutely delighted to have signed him.'

Foxes sign up Danns

Leicester have completed the signing of midfielder Neil Danns.

Danns, whose contract at Crystal Palace expires on July 1, has signed a three-year contract with Sven-Goran Eriksson's side.

The Foxes' football director Andrew Neville said: "Neil is a player that has drawn a lot of interest due to his performances in recent seasons, so we're delighted he has chosen Leicester City for the next stage of his career.

"Sven and his staff were very impressed with him last season and his quality and versatility will add considerable strength to the squad.''

Scottish champions Rangers had been keen to sign the 28-year-old, who made a total of 49 appearances for Palace last season and scored nine goals.

He began his career as a trainee at Blackburn and signed for Colchester for a nominal fee in December 2004. Birmingham paid £500,000 to take him to St Andrew's in 2006 and he moved on to Palace in January 2008 for £600,000.

Leicester City Set to Sign Lee Peltier

Leicester are in talks to sign Huddersfield Town defender Lee Peltier.

Foxes boss Sven Goran Eriksson has targeted Peltier as he looks to bring in a new right-back.

Tottenham defender Kyle Naughton is unlikely to return to the Walkers Stadium following his successful loan spell last term and Eriksson has switched his attentions to Peltier.

Leicester assistant manager Derek Fazackerley is a big fan of former Liverpool youngster Peltier having worked him during his time at Huddersfield.

The Foxes are thought to have agreed a fee for the full-back and are hoping to tie up the deal as soon as possible for Peltier.

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Leicester £5m bid for Nicky Maynard

Leicester are ready to launch a bid for Bristol City striker Nicky Maynard.Foxes manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is in the market for a goal-scoring forward and will turn his attention to City's star player if he fails to sign Yakubu from Everton.The 28-year-old Nigerian international spent a large part of last season on loan at the Walkers Stadium and is wanted by Eriksson as he attempts to return Leicester to the Premier League.
But reports on Merseyside suggest Yakubu, who is reluctant to drop down to the Championship, has agreed terms with Everton and is set to sign a new deal which will see him stay at Goodison Park for a further year.
If that happens, former England boss Eriksson is expected to test City's resolve by making them an offer for Maynard.The former Crewe Alexandra forward has only a year left on his contract and is stalling on signing a new one, prompting speculation that City might decide to cash in on their star striker rather than risk him becoming a free agent next summer.Sources in Leicester suggest former Foxes chief executive Lee Hughes, who left the club last week, has already spoken to City about Maynard, something club officials in Bristol vigorously deny.Whatever the truth of the matter, Leicester are keen on City's £2.25 million record-signing and, providing they attain assurances Maynard has fully recovered from the knee injury that caused him to miss the first six months of last season, are likely to make their interest formal if Yakubu commits his future to Everton.Maynard proved he had lost none of his predatory instincts in front of goal, scoring six times in ten Championship starts after returning from knee surgery in March and, should Leicester use Maynard's recent medical history as a means to drive the price down, City will rebuff any approach.Robins manager Keith Millen is desperate to keep Maynard at the club and plans to hold further talks with the 24-year-old striker when he returns from holiday later this month, aimed at persuading him to pen a new deal.

But any offer in excess of £5m might well test the resolve of City chairman Colin Sexstone and chief investor Steve Lansdown, who are concerned by the delay in Maynard signing a new contract and fear their prize asset could leave for nothing at the end of next season.

If Maynard continues to stall, City officials will have to choose between the risk of selling arguably their most potent striker to a Championship rival or allowing his transfer value to depreciate as he enters the final year of his contract.

Foxes boss Eriksson hopes to conclude a deal for David Nugent this weekend, the former England striker who is a free agent after leaving Portsmouth.

But he wants to further strengthen his strike-force and has money to spend.

Although in some respects a move to Leicester will be viewed as a sideways move for Maynard, the Asian Football Investments group, who own Leicester City, are hugely ambitious and are prepared to invest large sums of their own money in pursuit of Premier League status.

But City boss Millen also harbours ambitions of winning promotion to the Premier League and will argue that Maynard's goals are vital if the club is to return to the top-flight for the first time in 32 years.

Leicester 4 Barnsley 1

Leicester maintained their steady climb up the Championship table thanks to a fine win over Barnsley.
Paul Gallagher's 30-yard shot set them on their way after 15 minutes.
Andy King's 43rd-minute effort put them two ahead, although Barnsley pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through new Chelsea loanee Jacob Mellis.
But King added a third with his second goal in the 58th minute before defender Kyle Naughton sealed the three points with two minutes remaining.
After a tame start at the Walker's Stadium, Gallagher brought the home fans to their feet when he sent an unstoppable right-foot shot inside the top corner.

Wellens, who provided the assist for Gallagher, was at the heart of the action again as Leicester doubled their lead just before the break.
The midfielder picked out Ayegbeni Yakubu and he in turn found King, who finished at the second attempt.
Barnsley, who had a goal ruled out for offside moments later, grabbed themselves a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when Mellis' shot from the edge of the area found the bottom corner.
But just as Barnsley were eyeing an equaliser, King scored his second of the game with a low drive from the edge of the box.

Yakubu and Matt Oakley missed opportunities to put the game beyond doubt, before Naughton unleashed a superb long-distance effort to finish the match off.
The win continues an impressive run of results for Sven Goran Eriksson's side, who have won five of their last six league games and are now up to eighth - just outside the play-off places.

Leicester City to sign Thierry Henry on loan

Leicester City have made an audacious bid to sign former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has made an enquiry about signing the 33-year-old striker on loan during the American Major League Soccer close season.

Henry has completed his first season with the New York Red Bulls, but is in England training with his former club Arsenal to maintain his fitness until the MLS season kicks-off again in March.

Henry has a 'multi-year' contract with the American club, and any deal will depend on whether the Red Bulls allow him out on loan, as fellow MLS club LA Galaxy did with David Beckham during the last close season

Leicester sign Yakubu

Leicester City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, has today confirmed the sensational loan signing of Everton and Nigeria striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, subject to league approval.

The 28-year-old star joins the Foxes until the end of the season on an initial loan deal, with a view to a permanent move to the Walkers Stadium in the summer.

Yakubu follows Ben Mee and Sol Bamba as Eriksson's third signing of the January transfer window, as the club sends out a statement of their ambitions, by capturing such a high-profile Premier League and international star.
Eriksson said: "Yakubu is a tremendous signing for Leicester City. He will bring pace, power and experience to the club.

"He has captained his country, played in major competitions and is a first-class footballer, who I am certain will help us to achieve our aims of moving up the npower Championship.

"We are delighted that he is joining us until the end of the season and I'm sure that the supporters will enjoy watching him in action."

The Nigerian international has earned over 50 caps for his country, scoring over 20 goals and has lifted the Israeli Premier League title twice with Maccabi Haifa and the Football League Division One (now npower Championship) title with Portsmouth in 2002-03.

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