Van Nistelrooy named Leicester City manager

Leicester City have appointed former PSV Eindhoven boss Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager.

The Dutchman replaces Steve Cooper, who was sacked last weekend after just 12 Premier League matches in charge of the Foxes.

He has signed a contract until June 2027 at the King Power Stadium.

"I'm proud, I'm excited," said the 48-year-old.

"Everybody that I speak to about Leicester City is enthusiastic. They have great stories about the quality of the people working at the club, the supporters and, of course, the recent history of the club is impressive.

"I'm excited to start and to get to know everyone and give everything I can for the football club."

Leicester are 16th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone, and go to Brentford on Saturday.

First-team coach Ben Dawson will take charge of the side in west London before Van Nistelrooy leads the Foxes for the first time against West Ham at home on 3 December.

Van Nistelrooy's appointment comes two weeks after he left his role as interim head coach at Manchester United, following Ruben Amorim's appointment.

He oversaw three wins and one draw during his four-game stint in charge at United, with two of the victories coming against Leicester in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

The Dutchman's only previous role in senior management was with former club PSV Eindhoven, who he led to second place in the Eredivisie in 2022-23.

Van Nistelrooy left PSV before the end of that season, citing a "lack of support within the club".

After a year out of the game, Van Nistelrooy joined Erik ten Hag's backroom staff at Old Trafford in the summer, having spoken to Burnley about replacing Vincent Kompany at Turf Moor at the end of last season.

Van Nistelrooy said United was the only club he would have considered joining in an assistant manager's capacity, having scored 150 goals in 219 games for them during a five-year spell before he moved to Real Madrid in 2006.

Cooper, meanwhile, was dismissed after just 157 days in the job.

Leicester City chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said: "Ruud's experience, knowledge, and winning mentality will undoubtedly bring great value to us, and we look forward to supporting him in achieving success for our fans and our club."