Ben Guest
Claudio Ranieri is the new manager at Craven Cottage after Fulham announced that they have sacked Slavisa Jokanovic.
Having come up from the Championship last season, Fulham owner Shahid Khan bankrolled a huge £100 million spending spree this summer, bringing in some big-name players such as Andre Schurrle, Jean Michel Seri and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
However, having played some excellent football to gain promotion, the West London club have looked at sixes and sevens at the back, conceding a whopping 31 goals in their opening 12 Premier League games to leave them rock bottom of the table, three points from safety.
With their status as a top-flight club already looking in doubt, the club owner Shahid Khan – who recently withdrew his £600 million bid to buy Wembley – has decided to make a change, sacking promotion winning manager Jokanovic and immediately replacing him with former Chelsea and Leicester boss, Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri first sampled the blood and thunder football of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge between 2000 and 2004, but it was his stint with Leicester City that was his greatest ever achievement, steering the Foxes to the most unbelievable of league title successes in 2016.
Speaking to the official Fulham website, Khan said that while outgoing manager Jokanovic has his utmost appreciation, replacing him with 67-year-old Ranieri was the ‘correct decision.’
“I wasn’t anticipating having to make this announcement related to Slaviša and wish the circumstances were such that I didn’t have to, but our path this season has led me to make what I know is the correct decision, at the right time, for our players, the Club and our supporters,” Khan said.
“Slaviša will always have my appreciation and respect for everything he did to return Fulham to top-flight football. I am hoping everyone in the Fulham Family shares my heartfelt sentiments for Slaviša and joins me in wishing him success and good fortune, wherever his next stop may be.”