Ruud van Nistelrooy has the potential to transform a number of Leicester City stars.
After letting Steve Cooper go last week, the club have acted quickly to sign a replacement, confirming Ruud van Nistelrooy as Leicester City manager on Friday.
The Dutchman is going to miss the weekend’s game with Brentford but should take charge of the midweek clash with West Ham United on December 3rd.
Shortly after his appointment, Leicester fans made their feelings on Van Nistelrooy clear on social media.
The 48-year-old quickly returned the favour, with Van Nistelrooy sharing his first message to Foxes fans.
The mood at the King Power Stadium is now much brighter but with the threat of relegation still looming, the ex-Manchester United coach must get his new team up and running as quickly as possible.
With this in mind, we have taken a look at the three players who are expected to thrive under Leicester’s new manager.
Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Old Trafford on Se...
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Three Leicester City stars will thrive under Ruud van Nistelrooy
Facundo Buonanotte
Facundo Buonanotte joined Leicester on a season-long loan from Brighton and Hove Albion during the 2024 summer transfer window.
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The Argentine has already proven his worth to the club, scoring three and assisting two in 10 Premier League matches so far.
However, Van Nistelrooy has already hinted Buonanotte could have a new role at Leicester from his time as manager of PSV Eindhoven.
During his one season at the club, the manager opted to turn Xavi Simons into an inside forward.
The now RB Leipzig man had great success in this position, scoring 22 and assisting 12 across the campaign, and given Buonanotte’s obvious quality, he could no doubt adopt a similar role at Leicester this season.
Victor Kristiansen
Similarly, full-back Victor Kristiansen could stand to benefit from what Van Nistelrooy learned while manager of PSV.
With Simons operating as an inside forward, left-back Patrick van Aanholt was given more of a license to push forward and attack as a winger at times.
The new Leicester manager explained: “After the winter it was Bakayoko playing here [on the right] and I played Xavi Simons on the other wing.
“That was more on the outside without the ball because with the ball he tends to come inside playing in the half spaces and with Patrick van Aanholt going higher up attacking there. It was it was a good partnership on the left side.”
Kristiansen is yet to provide a single attacking return this season and has largely been subpar since his transfer in 2023 but a more advanced role could suit the Dane perfectly.
Odsonne Édouard of Leicester City during the Leicester City Training session at Seagrave Training Complex on November 13, 2024 in Leicester, United...
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Odsonne Edouard
Odsonne Edouard joined Leicester on deadline day over the summer, signing on a season-long loan from Crystal Palace.
However, Edouard struggled under Cooper and is still yet to score a Premier League goal for the Foxes.
But Van Nistelrooy is one of the best strikers in English top-flight history and will surely be able to offer the Frenchman some much-needed advice on how he can improve his goalscoring.
What Joshua Zirkzee said about Van Nistelrooy should excite Edouard, with the ex-Red Devil clearly very willing to share his years of striking wisdom with the next generation.
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