Leicester City are in talks to appoint Ruud van Nistelrooy as Steve Cooper’s successor.
Negotiations have been taking place with the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker this week and have been advancing, but there is still work to be done and no agreement has been reached so far.
First team coach Ben Dawson — assisted by coaches Danny Alcock and Andy Hughes — has been taking training this week ahead of the trip to Brentford following the sacking of Cooper and it remains unclear whether the talks will be concluded in time for Van Nistlerooy to take charge of Saturday’s game.
Cooper was sacked following Leicester’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon to end his five-month spell in charge at the King Power Stadium.
Van Nistelrooy is available after a brief stint as Manchester United interim head coach before Ruben Amorim’s appointment.
The 48-year-old Dutchman guided United to three victories and one draw during his brief time in charge, including two wins over Cooper’s Leicester in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.
Leicester are 16th in the table, one point above the relegation zone, having earned promotion back to the top flight under Enzo Maresca, who left to join Chelsea in the summer.
Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 games for United, returned to Old Trafford in the summer as Erik ten Hag’s assistant and was placed in temporary charge following his compatriot’s dismissal in October.
He previously held talks with Burnley over replacing Vincent Kompany before he joined Ten Hag’s coaching staff.
His only managerial job to date was at PSV, where he won the Dutch Cup in his sole season at the helm.
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
