Shakespeare appointed permanent Leicester City manager

Leicester City have appointed Craig Shakespeare as the club's permanent manager on a three-year deal.

Shakespeare replaced sacked Italian Premier League-winning manager Claudio Ranieri, who inspired Leicester to their unlikely title triumph in the 2015-16 season.

Although Leicester ended the campaign without a win in their last three games, Shakespeare won eight of his 16 Premier League matches in charge.

The 53-year-old also led Leicester to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where his side were narrowly beaten by Atletico Madrid, exiting the tournament 2-1 on aggregate.

"This is a really exciting opportunity for me to continue along this new path in my career and to continue to work with a club and a group of staff I've grown extremely close to," said Shakespeare.

"I'm grateful to the owners and the board of directors for their continued faith and support. 

"Our preparations for pre-season and the new Premier League campaign have been ongoing for some time, but we can now move on with certainty and ensure we are well equipped to compete at the levels now expected of a club like Leicester City."

Shakespeare served as Ranieri's assistant and worked in the same post under the Italian's predecessor Nigel Pearson, with the club's vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha hailing his deep knowledge of Leicester City as making him the right fit for the role.

"Craig has shown all the qualities in leadership, motivation and talent management that are required to be successful in this role," said Srivaddhanaprabha. "Those qualities, aligned with his first-class coaching acumen, his knowledge of Leicester City and its philosophy, and the respect he has earned at every level of the club make him the ideal choice to help take us forward. 

"Our primary objective for the coming years is to successfully translate the extraordinary experiences of the last two seasons into lessons that will strengthen and enhance the club's pursuit of its long-term vision of sustainable success. Continuity is among the key elements to making such a process work.

"Over the last nine years, Craig has built a unique insight into the catalysts for success at Leicester City, its impact on our personnel and the conditions needed to ensure its longevity."