Ruud van Nistelrooy is a potential candidate to take charge at Leicester City, as Enzo Maresca prepares to leave the club for Chelsea.
Leicester won the Championship title last season to earn an instant promotion back into the Premier League, though the pre-season preparations of the Foxes have been thrown into chaos due to Chelsea’s pursuit of head coach Maresca.
An agreement is expected imminently with Chelsea prepared to pay the £8.5m compensation fee in Maresca’s contract at the King Power Stadium, having been impressed with the Italian’s work in the second tier last season.
Van Nistelrooy is one of the names in the frame to replace Maresca, according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri. The Dutchman has been without a club since leaving PSV Eindhoven towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign, citing a lack of support from the board.
Van Nistelrooy won the 2023 Johan Cruyff Shield and 2022–23 KNVB Cup during his time at PSV, having started his coaching career in the youth set-up at his former side and as an assistant with the Netherlands national team.
The 47-year-old is well versed in the demands of the Premier League having spent five seasons at Manchester United between 2001 and 2006.
He scored 150 goals in 215 appearances for the Red Devils and won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup during his time at Old Trafford, alongside the PFA Player of the Year and Premier League Golden Boot.
