Inside the deal: Why Leicester wanted Ruud van Nistelrooy

The travelling Leicester City fans made their feelings known about their team’s performance at Brentford on Saturday.

Chants from the 1,725 in the away section included, “This is embarrassing”, and, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” as Leicester capitulated to a 4-1 defeat. They also called for the departure of director of football Jon Rudkin, who many see as solely responsible for Leicester’s decline in recent years.

The club’s battles to conform to profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) to avoid sanctions, some poor player recruitment and the failure of the Steve Cooper appointment — with the manager hired in the summer getting sacked after just three months — have all been laid at Rudkin’s door, and even the decisions of popular owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha are now coming under scrutiny.

They need their latest move, bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy as Leicester’s fifth manager in two years, to be a success to vindicate the decision to make yet another change in the dugout.

Sources at Leicester and Manchester United who The Athletic contacted for this piece spoke anonymously to protect relationships.

The consequences of the Van Nistelrooy appointment going wrong and him leading Leicester straight back to the English Football League (EFL) after a one-year return to the top flight could be catastrophic for the club.

PSR sanctions from the EFL are seemingly inevitable in that scenario, considering its efforts to impose them last season while then manager Enzo Maresca was steering Leicester to immediate Premier League promotion.

That likelihood was a major factor in the desire to make a decisive decision on Cooper before the season was too far gone. When it came, directly from owner Srivaddhanaprabha, known at the club as ‘Khun Top’, after the 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea on November 23, Leicester did not have a successor lined up, but did have a plan.

As the club’s leadership began to feel Cooper was struggling to connect with players and fanbase alike, and it was felt that things were not going to improve, they had begun to look at their options — and Van Nistelrooy emerged as an attractive one.

As The Athletic reported last Monday in the wake of Cooper’s sacking, long-term target Graham Potter was not considered this time. Leicester had tried twice before without success and the former Brighton and Chelsea manager would not come cheap. David Moyes, who would have seemed to be the experienced manager they need at that point and is also available after leaving West Ham at the end of last season, was also disregarded. But Van Nistelrooy was a coach they liked from the outset.

The irony did not escape many observers when Leicester posted on social media a silhouette of the man they were about to unveil as Cooper’s successor on Friday night.

It was made from a photo of Van Nistelrooy celebrating during Manchester United’s 3-0 win against Cooper’s Leicester side at Old Trafford three weeks before. That was the second time he led United to victory over Leicester during his four games as United’s caretaker manager; the other was a 5-2 loss in the Carabao Cup, having stepped up from an assistant’s role following the sacking of Erik ten Hag at the end of October.

The way his United side played impressed the watching Leicester officials, but that was not the only reason they wanted to hire him.

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Besides that brief spell leading United, who he’d shone for as a player two decades ago, Van Nistelrooy had just one season as a first-team manager in his own right: back home in the Netherlands with PSV for the 2022-23 season. He won two trophies that year, and PSV finished second in the Eredivisie, but resigned with one game of their league campaign remaining, reportedly citing a lack of support from the club hierarchy. He then spent a year out of the game before returning to United as a No 2 to countryman Ten Hag this summer.

According to sources at United, Van Nistelrooy impressed the club’s hierarchy with his communication and charisma. They also felt he had an aura about him, meaning he was the obvious choice as interim while they sorted out the permanent manager position — although they always had the eventual appointment of Ruben Amorim of Portugal’s Sporting CP in mind to take the job.

Van Nistelrooy’s caretaker spell was always going to be brief as United did not want a temporary fix for the remainder of the season, as happened with Ralf Rangnick after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in November 2021, and there were executive-level talks at Old Trafford on that point on October 11, two weeks before Ten Hag’s sacking, as they debated the manager’s position.

Before Van Nistelrooy was appointed as Ten Hag’s assistant, the United manager was aware his fellow Dutchman, due to his status, could take his place if a change at Old Trafford was made and there were conversations around this possibility. Club sources wonder if Ten Hag would have been dissatisfied with Van Nistelrooy replacing him on a longer basis. But, ultimately, United executives felt Van Nistelrooy worthy of stepping up, understanding he would get the chance to enhance his CV, which he did in his four games that partly led to his Leicester appointment.

Van Nistelrooy wanted to stay on at United under Amorim initially, but as the days went on, he read the room and realised by his fourth match, against Leicester in the Premier League, that it would be his last.

Amorim had waited until after his final game at Sporting to communicate with Van Nistelrooy, and it was also clear the Portuguese would bring three coaches with him, leaving little space for more. Van Nistelrooy invited his father and son to be in the crowd for that 3-0 win and shook hands with members of staff after the final whistle in a sign he was bidding farewell.

He would admit during his first press conference on Monday that his United spell had generated more interest and opportunities for him than his entire coaching career.

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Some people familiar with his time leading PSV felt that Van Nistelrooy was not totally comfortable with being a No 1, hence his agreeing to an assistant’s role in the summer. But the 48-year-old has always said he only took that secondary position because it was with United, a club still close to his heart after five years there as a player.

During his time as interim manager, sources close to the United squad say Van Nistelrooy was well-liked by players and had a clear connection with midfielder Casemiro, who celebrated in his direction after United’s second goal in that cup win over Leicester.

Van Nistelrooy was admired by players at United (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Recruiting a near-rookie manager could be seen as a big risk, but Maresca had even less senior experience when he arrived in June last year. The Italian made a huge impact on Leicester, steadying the ship after the shock of relegation and implanting a style of play and identity on his team that Cooper found hard to follow.

According to sources close to the Leicester squad, some found it difficult to adapt to the Welshman’s approach after the regimented style of his predecessor. Leicester’s players did not cover themselves in glory last week off the pitch when some were photographed in a nightclub beneath a sign that read “Enzo, I miss you” just before Cooper, who had only overseen 12 league games, was sacked.

If some in the Leicester ranks could not identify with Cooper — a career coach with little pedigree as a player — Van Nistelrooy certainly carries gravitas from an illustrious career that also included four years at Real Madrid and brought 70 caps for the Netherlands. As one Leicester staff member says: “He looks the part. He has a stature in the game that will impress the players.”

Van Nistelrooy had been actively scouted by analysts from the club’s recruitment department and the style of play he adopted at PSV was seen as being close to Maresca’s approach — a structured 4-2-3-1 that moves into a back three, with a box of four midfielders behind a front three, with two wingers opening up the pitch. The Leicester players loved Maresca’s brand of football, and several sources close to the squad say Van Nistelrooy’s appointment has gone down well in the dressing room.

As he considered Leicester’s offer, Van Nistelrooy even rang Maresca, who left in the summer to become Chelsea’s head coach, to ask about the club, the players, the people he would work under if he took the job and the fanbase. Maresca gave him a positive appraisal.

Van Nistelrooy, who had no input in the selection or tactics for the Brentford game, sent messages of good luck to the players and caretaker boss Ben Dawson beforehand but only met them all for the first time at Seagrave, Leicester’s training complex, on Sunday as he got straight to work preparing his first game in charge, on Tuesday against West Ham United.

That was the first time he had seen Seagrave. He had flown to London twice to meet Khun Top and Rudkin to discuss the vacancy, but did not undergo a formal interview like Cooper. The rest of the time he remained at his family home, outside Eindhoven. Members of the club’s media staff also travelled to the Netherlands to interview him for Friday evening’s announcement.

He then flew to London on Saturday morning and met Rudkin, Khun Top and Leicester directors at Brentford’s Gtech Stadium, though since his decision to accept their offer he had been in dialogue with several of the club staff.

Van Nistelrooy was said to be enthusiastic, professional and respectful, and had already drawn up detailed plans for his first training sessions and schedule. Details of his backroom team are yet to be revealed, but he is expected to bring in a smaller staff than previous Leicester managers and is said to be a hands-on coach.

(Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

After his retirement as a player in 2012, and having played under Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Fabio Capello and Manuel Pellegrini, Van Nistelrooy had not planned to move into coaching. However, he tentatively stepped into a part-time role working with the under-17s at PSV and then mentoring the club’s young strikers. He then chose to pursue coaching full-time and was on the staff of the Netherlands’ team from 2014-16 under Guus Hiddink and then Danny Blind while continuing his role at PSV.

His experience in developing emerging talents is one of the qualities Leicester admire most. He has a reputation for becoming popular with players as he works closely with them to help them improve. For example, he spent hours working with Fabio Silva, the Wolverhampton Wanderers player who was on loan at PSV in 2023.

And it is not just the youngsters who can benefit from this appointment. Jamie Vardy, who in 2015 broke Van Nistelrooy’s record from his United days by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games, is about to turn 38, but he has adapted to different roles under previous managers and the Dutchman will lean on Leicester’s talisman to help galvanise the dressing room.

During the Brentford game, after Vardy outmuscled Ethan Pinnock before teeing up Facundo Buonanotte for Leicester’s opening goal, Van Nistelrooy could be seen mimicking that shoulder barge to Khun Top, who sat to his right throughout the afternoon. It was one great striker appreciating the work of another.

At the final whistle, Khun Top, Rudkin and the rest of the Leicester hierarchy stood looking mournful as they watched their beaten team leave the field. Van Nistelrooy stayed seated, with his eyes on his phone.

Leicester did have other options for this position but made Van Nistelrooy their main target and went all-in to convince him to join them. Van Nistelrooy also admitted he had other options, too, but chose Leicester because of the challenge of the Premier League.

He is stepping into a difficult situation, with Leicester one point outside the relegation places, injuries mounting, confidence damaged and a fanbase unhappy about the direction their club are going in.

There is also uncertainty about Leicester’s continued efforts to avoid PSR sanctions, which have not been helped by an unanticipated change of manager. Van Nistelrooy’s availability after leaving United — so they avoid paying compensation for a coach in a job — was a factor in the club’s decision to appoint him, but not the overriding one.

His ability as a coach will also be vital, as it is anticipated there may be limited funds with which to strengthen the squad in the upcoming winter transfer window as Leicester rebalance their books following their 2023 relegation.

Leicester like Van Nistelrooy’s pedigree and experience at the top of the game as a player, and they like his ability to develop young players and his stature as an individual. Above all, they think he can unite the club and fanbase, lift the players and restore a feel-good factor.

As Van Nistelrooy said in his first press conference on Monday, “(At United), I enjoyed being responsible, creating a connection with the team, with the supporters and being able to turn the momentum for the club a little bit.

“That is our job and that felt great to do, and I just got better, you know. Now I’m in this position to do it again and I am excited.”

Additional reporting: Laurie Whitwell

(Top photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)