Ruud van Nistelrooy could be lining himself up for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Every manager wants to work in the world’s biggest league.
Van Nistelrooy recently got a taste of that as interim manager of Manchester United over a four-game period, winning three matches and drawing one to help stop the rot after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.
Like Ten Hag before him, the Dutchman was shown the exit door at Old Trafford once Ruben Amorim insisted on bringing his coaching staff to the club from Sporting CP.
After a short run of positive results, Van Nistelrooy can be proud of his brief stint in charge of his former club, where he is adored by the fans for his time as a lethal goalscorer.
Now, Van Nistelrooy is beginning to be recognised as a coach across the continent.
According to The Sun, Van Nistelrooy is one of the leading candidates wanted by Leicester City following the sacking of Steve Cooper.
Foxes executives are understood to have been impressed by the job Van Nistelrooy did at Old Trafford and believe he could be the man to steer the club to Premier League safety.
As a result, Leicester are thought to be sounding out Van Nistelrooy over a potential move, but he’s likely to have multiple offers on the table over the coming months.
Van Nistelrooy doesn’t need to rush his decision
I’d suspect a job in the Premier League would be Van Nistelrooy’s preference, but he’ll have offers in Germany and maybe Spain too.
Leicester City are currently 16th in the Premier League and are expected to be hovering around the relegation zone this season. I don’t quite know what they were expecting under Cooper, but the decision to sack him seems harsh given the reality of the situation at the King Power Stadium. Who knows if the expectations under Van Nistelrooy would be any different?
It will also depend on how quickly Van Nistelrooy intends to return to work, but it wasn’t part of his plan to be out of work so soon after returning to United as an assistant coach in the summer.
Van Nistelrooy made it clear as interim manager that he would’ve remained an assistant coach under Amorim if the offer was there. That door was clearly shut.