Leicester Appoint Former Manchester United Manager To Replace Steve Cooper

 

Leicester City have appointed a former interim manager from Manchester United to replace outgoing manager, Steve Cooper following his dismissal on Friday.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has signed a two-year contract as the club's new manager and will make his Premier League game debut with the team against West Ham on Tuesday. In the meantime, Ben Dawson reportedly will lead the team as the caretaker manager against Brentford on Saturday before relinquishing position to the incoming Dutch manager.

The appointment of the former Manchester United striker was following a decision reached by the club management on Friday, which was followed by a statement from the club owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who described the appointment as a pleasure "to welcome Ruud" as the new manager. 

"We are all excited to see the impact he can have as we embark on this new chapter," Aiyawatt said in his statement. "Ruud's experience, knowledge, and winning mentality will undoubtedly bring great value to us."

Bear in mind that Ruud had just left Manchester United as an interim manager barely two weeks ago. He was first an assistant manager under Erik ten Hag before he was appointed in a short spell upon the stepping down of the latter until Ruben Amorim was appointment on a permanent contract in November. 

Ruud left United with a clean sheet in all three games played in all competitions. He started his coaching career at Jong PSV in 2021, where he left to join PSV Eindhoven before he joined Erik at Old Trafford in 2024.