Gary Lineker told Leicester City to appoint Emma Hayes as the club's new manager, the Match of the Day host has revealed.
The Foxes needed a new boss after their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season. Dean Smith took over from Brendan Rodgers towards the end of the campaign but was unable to keep the Midlands side in the top-flight.
Although Leicester eventually landed on Enzo Maresca, a popular coach working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, things could've been very different had they listened to Lineker.
The former England star revealed the suggestion he made to the Leicester board on the the Rest is Football podcast. The revelation came about as Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer contemplated how long it would be until a woman manages the England men's team in the future.
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Lineker recalled: "It's interesting, I don't know whether I told you before but in the summer, when Leicester were looking for a new manager I actually got in touch with the club with a little idea I had – which was for them to go for Emma Hayes from Chelsea.
"She's great, absolutely legitimate but imagine being the first major football club to have a woman as a coach. It would have brought massive amounts of publicity, particularly at a time when the club had gone down into the Championship.
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"You'd have sold all your season tickets. It's not a stunt at all although it is in a way because it would be a massive PR opportunity.
"They did come back to me and say it's probably a step too far at this stage."
Hayes is one of the most impressive managers in the women's game, having won six FA Women's Super League titles with Chelsea. She was also named The Best FIFA football coach in 2021.
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Her talents have already seen her linked with a host of vacancies in the EFL, including previous openings at Norwich City and AFC Wimbledon. Hayes has appeared open to coaching in the men's game in the past.
"All coaches aspire to be at the best level they can get to, and I'm no different," she said. "If it happened for me that the next opportunity was in the men's game, then I'd welcome that.
League Two side Forest Green Rovers made history in the summer with their appointment as Hannah Dingley as caretaker boss. However, she has since returned to her role in the club's academy after David Horseman got the top job at the New Lawn.
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