/sportsinfo/media/member_avatars/image 59.png)
Follow Us/sportsinfo/media/media_files/JbP5VibivVqyReToGX4v.png)
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Former Dutch footballer and Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy is in the frontline to become Leicester City manager. The development comes as current Leicester boss Enzo Maresca is set to join Chelsea. Reports have emerged that The Foxes are considering van Nistelrooy as Maresca’s replacement.
Leicester won the Championship under Maresca with 97 points this season. The 44-year-old's heroics in his first campaign this season have prompted the Blues to make a formal move to appoint him as Mauricio Pochettino's successor. The West London club have reportedly approached Leicester for permission to speak to Maresca.
The departure of Pep Guardiola's former assistant will be a huge blow for Leicester, who will need someone who can fill big shoes. Van Nistelrooy, one of the best strikers of all time, was most recently the manager of PSV Eindhoven and is an ideal candidate to take over the reins at the King Power Stadium.
Van Nistelrooy expresses the desire to manage in England
The ex-Real Madrid striker has also twice been assistant boss of the Netherlands. Notably, the Dutchman had previously expressed his desire to manage in England.
“I would really like to work in Spain, and I have had conversations with Spanish clubs. But also the other leagues in which I have played, I want to coach there too. In the Premier League, and the Bundesliga,” van Nistelrooy had told Spanish outlet Diario AS.
The 47-year-old scored 150 goals in five seasons at Old Trafford and won one Premier League title. Any move to Leicester City would see Van Nistelrooy return to the Premier League since his successful stint with Man Utd. After leaving United in 2006, the star striker played for Madrid, then Hamburg and Malaga. He also made 70 appearances for the Dutch national team and amassed 35 goals.
Van Nistelrooy’s appointment as Leicester boss will mark his first return to management since leaving PSV Eindhoven last year. It would also mark Leicester needing to appoint their fourth manager in the space of just over a year.