Ex-Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder and former Boro midfielder Gary O’Neil were both reportedly spoken to by City chiefs as the Foxes set about replacing Ruud van Nistelrooy.
But Cifuentes, who did a good job at Loftus Road and turned heads at several clubs, is now expected to be appointed in the next 48 hours.
Leicester are now said to be in advanced talks with QPR, who placed Cifuentes on gardening leave at the end of last season. The Foxes will have to pay around £500,000 to the Spaniard’s former club.
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Cifuentes was linked with West Brom at the end of last season and left QPR amid reports of a fall-out with club bosses.
But he impressed Leicester in interviews and got the nod of the relegated club ahead of Wilder, who was sacked by Sheffield United last month, and former Wolves and Bournemouth chief O’Neil.
Danny Rohl was linked with Leicester at the start of this summer and the German – who was one of the managers in contention for the Boro job after Michael Carrick’s exit – looked set to leave Sheffield Wednesday amid the off the pitch chaos at Hillsborough.
However, reports then emerged earlier this week claiming Rohl, who has been absent since Wednesday’s players reported back for pre-season, was set to return.
But there was then another twist on Thursday, when the Sheffield Star reported that a group of players and staff have now made it known that they wouldn’t welcome Rohl’s return.
The Star reported: “This publication understands that a meeting has taken place between the players and staff at their preseason camp at St. George’s Park, with the general consensus being that they would prefer it if Röhl did not return.
“It’s felt like too much has happened since the end of the season, including the German’s absence from preseason, for him to walk back in.
“Multiple sources have suggested that a return for Röhl would not be welcomed by a substantial portion of those who remain, an issue that would throw up more question marks around the future of a football club that is currently surrounded by chaos.”
Rohl’s assistant Henrik Pedersen has been overseeing training in Rohl’s absence and officially extended his stay at the start of this week, with the expectation being that he would become manager when Rohl’s exit was confirmed.
But in what has been a summer of uncertainty and chaos at Hillsborough, what happens next is unclear as things stand.
