OFFICIAL: Ruud van Nistelrooy appointed Leicester City manager

Tom Weber

• Updated: 29 Nov 2024 13:05 CST
• 3 min read

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Leicester City have announced the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager.

The Manchester United legend has made a swift return to the Premier League following his interim spell at Old Trafford. Van Nistelrooy has succeeded Steve Cooper in the Leicester City dugout after the latter was sacked just five months into his spell at the club.

Van Nistelrooy's task will be to keep the Foxes in the Premier League, with the club currently languishing in 16th after the recent 2-1 loss to Chelsea, which ultimately cost Cooper his job.

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Former Nottingham Forest boss Cooper had only succeeded new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in the summer but found his head on the chopping block after a four-game winless run with Leicester.

Van Nistelrooy, meanwhile, won three of his four matches in interim charge of Man Utd after the dismissal of Erik ten Hag, who had brought the former Red Devils striker back to the club as an assistant in the summer.

Upon news of his appointment, Van Nistelrooy told the Leicester website: "I’m proud, I’m excited. Everybody that I speak to about Leicester City Football Club is enthusiastic.

"They have great stories about the quality of the people working at the Club, the supporters and, of course, the recent history of the Club is impressive. I’m excited to start and to get to know everyone and give everything I can for the Football Club."

Van Nistelrooy named Leicester City manager

Van Nistelrooy's appointment by Leicester is viewed as a bit of a gamble due to the relative inexperience of the 48-year-old. Besides his brief time at Man Utd, his only experience as a head coach came at PSV in 2022/23.

His short stint in Eindhoven went down as a success as he won the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup but he unceremoniously resigned before his first season even ended.

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Van Nistelrooy himself cited a lack of support after his departure, while media reports claimed that he had fallen out with some players and higher-ups.

Either way, he faces a tall task to keep the promoted Foxes in the league. Leicester have won just two Premier League fixtures all season and will square up with Brentford away from home on Saturday.