Former Leicester and Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri is the 1/5 favourite to become the new Watford head coach after Xisco Munoz became the first managerial casualty of the Premier League season, with the Hornets sacking him just seven games into the campaign.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Leeds left the newly-promoted club in 14th place on seven points.
Munoz, who took charge at Vicarage Road last December, had successfully guided the club back to the top flight at the first time of asking with a second-placed finish in the Sky Bet Championship last season.
The club said in a statement that recent results “strongly indicate a negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving”.
Since beating Aston Villa on opening day, Watford's only other league win came against bottom side Norwich.
Munoz's departure means the Hornets are now looking for a 17th manager in just over 10 years.
Next Watford manager odds (via Sky Bet)
- Claudio Ranieri - 1/5
- Diego Martinez - 7/2
- Paulo Fonseca - 14/1
- Eddie Howe - 16/1
- Frank Lampard - 16/1
- Chris Wilder - 20/1
- Chris Hughton - 25/1
Odds correct at 1215 BST (03/10/21)
'Tinkerman' to return to the Premier League?
Ranieri, 69, is reportedly in talks to take over at Vicarage Road.
The Italian is best known for guiding Leicester to a shock Premier League title triumph in 2015/16, and a four-year tenure at Chelsea from 2000 to 2004.
His last stint in England was an unsuccessful spell with Fulham, which lasted just 17 games, between November 2018 and February 2019.
He is currently out of work having left Sampdoria at the end of last season.
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