James Maddison might be a wildcard solution to Manchester United's creative issue

Eighteen months ago, Brendan Rodgers was not just regarded as Manchester United manager material but the favourite to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

On Sunday, Rodgers's tenure as Leicester manager ended. It was a surprise it had taken this long. Rodgers was excoriating of the club's summer transfer window on deadline day in September when he sounded as though he had come to the end of the road.

Such is the jeopardy in the relegation quagmire of the Premier League that it was only when Leicester plunged to second from bottom on Saturday that the club chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha acted.

Also read: Ten Hag pushing for United to be more ruthless in transfer window

Srivaddhanaprabha said Leicester had "experienced some of our finest footballing moments" under Rodgers. But, of course, they sacked him; a manager who had presided over successive top-five finishes, a European semi-final and a maiden FA Cup triumph. In football, you are judged on what you are doing, not what you have done.

It speaks volumes of Rodgers's clout that he is among the favourites to be installed at Tottenham, a club he rejected almost two years ago. That would be a more sensible appointment by Daniel Levy than Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte.

Rodgers should not be judged on the last 18 months. Leicester, once heralded as one of the best-run clubs in the country, have lost their Midas touch. A couple of summers of wretched recruitment and poor succession planning have cost Rodgers his job and could cost the club their Premier League status.

Leicester posted losses of £92.5million last month and chief executive Susan Whelan was the bearer of more bad news: "As we look to continue to compete with more established opponents, profits from