Ruud van Nistelrooy CONFIRMED as Leicester manager as Man Utd legend makes instant return to Premier League

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY has been confirmed as Leicester's new manager.

The 48-year-old Dutchman has quickly returned to management after serving as interim boss of Manchester United following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.

Van Nistelrooy replaces Steve Cooper as Foxes manager after the former Nottingham Forest boss was given the ax following a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.

The Dutchman will be in the stands for their match against Brentford tomorrow.

During his time in charge of Man Utd, Van Nistelrooy defeated Cooper's men twice.

They met in the Carabao Cup on 30 October, with the Red Devils coming out 5–2 winners.

And eleven days later he beat Leicester again 3-0 in the Premier League.

Cooper, 44, has won just two of his 12 Prem meetings at the helm of Leicester after succeeding Enzo Maresca in the summer, who guided the club to the Championship title last season.

The players apparently miss their old boss as they were seen partying next to a sign reading “Enzo, I miss you” during their Christmas party.

Just hours after the defeat to Chelsea, the team left for their celebratory Copenhagen party, signed by Cooper, unaware that he was about to be dropped.

According to The Telegraph, Cooper fell out with Jannik Vestergaard, Harry Winks and Hamza Choudhury during his ill-fated 157-day spell in charge at the King Power, with the former even banned from training at one point.

The Foxes are 16th in the Prem table, one point above the relegation zone.

Before joining Ten Hag's Old Trafford coaching staff, the former Man Utd and Real Madrid forward was manager of PSV Eindhoven.

He won 33 of his 51 matches and won the KNVB Cup in 2023.

Van Nistelrooy quit a week before the end of that season due to a lack of support from above.

Following Cooper's dismissal, Leicester were linked with Graham Potter and David Moyes.

But club chiefs quickly settled on Van Nistelrooy as their main target and have now got their man.