The Foxes are set to lose Maresca to Chelsea.
As Leicester City prepare to lose Enzo Maresca to Chelsea, a new candidate has reportedly emerged to replace the Italian at the King Power Stadium this summer.
Leicester manager news
Since winning the Championship and earning promotion, Leicester haven’t exactly been hit with positive news. Not only are they reportedly on course to lose the manager that took them up and implemented his philosophy, but reports suggest that they could be hit with an extensive point deduction to welcome them back to the Premier League after breaking FFP rules.
The pending deduction will arguably make their search for a new manager that much harder too with their next boss handed an instant disadvantage in the race to avoid relegation from the Premier League. That hasn’t stopped the Foxes from identifying candidates, however.
According to Sacha Taviolieri, Leicester are considering a move for Ruud van Nistelrooy whose only managerial experience came at PSV Eindhoven in the 2022/23 season. The Premier League legend seems to have impressed enough during that spell though, given the interest of those at The King Power.
“Interesting” Van Nistelrooy’s can follow Maresca’a path
Leicester and Maresca proved this season that experience doesn’t go hand in hand with whether a manager can be successful or not. The Italian left Manchester City and jumped straight in at the Foxes, before achieving what he set out to achieve. Now, Van Nistelrooy can do similar, having had just one season of experience as a manager. His record during that time is certainly impressive, however.
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | Managerial record (via Transfermarkt) |
|---|---|
| Games | 50 |
| Wins | 34 |
| Draws | 8 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Win Rate | 68% |
The former Manchester United striker earned plenty of fans during his time in charge too, including Guus Peters, who covers PSV for de Volkskrant, a Dutch national newspaper. Peters told The Athletic: “We don’t have a history in the Netherlands of many strikers who became top coaches. Rinus Michels did and was a European champion with the Dutch squad in 1988.
“Marco van Basten decided to quit as a coach because it didn’t fit with his type of personality. So Ruud is interesting. He speaks really well about the game and what his vision is. People are following how he is doing now that he’s in charge of a big club in the Netherlands.”
Of course, there are two ways that such an appointment can go for a newly-promoted club. Burnley, for example, always looked out of their depth in the Premier League under Vincent Kompany, who has now surprised many by making his way to Bayern Munich. Leicester, if they go for Van Nistelrooy, will hope that he first keeps them up and then stays put to build a project for years to come at the club.
Leave a Reply