Fulham confirm appointment of ex-Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri

Fulham have sacked manager Slavisa Jokanovic and replaced him with Claudio Ranieri on a ‘multi-year’ contract.

The Italian guided Leicester City to their famous 2016 Premier League title, which has been coined the greatest sporting achievement of all time by some commentators.

The decision to sack Jokanovic, who led Fulham to promotion via the Championship play-offs last season, came after the Serbian had only managed one win in his last 12 matches, leaving the Cottagers rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.

It is believed that the owner, Shahid Khan, wanted to have someone else lined up before dismissing Jokanovic, an action confirmed by the Fulham owner’s comments on the appointment of Ranieri.

“Making a change without having the right answer or succession plan was not an option,” said Fulham chairman Shahid Khan, via the BBC.

“So having someone of Claudio’s calibre ready to accept our challenge was comforting but, most of all, essential.

“Claudio is risk-free and ready-made for the Premier League, and particularly so for what we need at this moment at Fulham.

“His recent body of work with Leicester City is literally legendary, and then you look at Claudio’s experience with Chelsea and big clubs throughout Europe, and it’s pretty evident we are welcoming an extraordinary football man to Fulham Football Club.”

Ranieri was clearly delighted to get the opportunity to get back into the Premier League and thanked Mr Khan for the opportunity saying: “It is an honour to accept Mr Khan’s invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history,” Ranieri said on the Fulham website.

“The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed. This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table. I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage.”

Ranieri will have a great opportunity to win his first game, a home match against Southampton, and he faces his former side Leicester on December 4.

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