Ruud van Nistelrooy will succeed Steve Cooper as Leicester coach | city ​​of leicester

Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to become the new manager of Leicester City, returning almost immediately to the Premier League. after leaving Manchester United.

Van Nistelrooy, a United hero, is expected to succeed Steve Cooper. who was fired last sunday. His last game was a defeat at home against his predecessor, Enzo Maresca, now in charge of high-flying Chelsea.

Leicester were interested in Graham Potter and Carlos Corberán before installing Cooper in the summer, but held productive talks with Van Nistelrooy this week. The club was reluctant to pay compensation for a coach, making him an attractive option.

Van Nistelrooy previously briefly managed PSV Eindhoven, the club where he made his breakthrough as a player, winning the Dutch Cup in 2023. before giving upciting a lack of support within the club.

Leicester are 16th in the standings, one point above the relegation zone. The Dutchman's first game could be on Saturday at Brentford, before games against West Ham, Brighton, Newcastle and Wolves. Leicester's players returned to training on Tuesday, led by first-team coach Ben Dawson, who joined from Newcastle in the summer, after a Christmas party in Copenhagen, where the players were filmed dancing in a nightclub in front of a poster that said: “Enzo, I miss you.”

Van Nistelrooy joined United as assistant coach in July, but was named interim head coach after the sacking of Erik ten Hag and oversaw four matches, winning three and drawing one. Two of Van Nistelrooy's victories in the United dugout came against Leicester, with a 5-2 victory in the Carabao Cup before a 3-0 league victory in his final game as caretaker manager.