Ruud van Nistelrooy has already made a huge impact in his first week as Leicester City boss.
After being appointed as the new Leicester manager last week, Van Nistelrooy got his tenure off to the perfect start with a win against West Ham United.
The Foxes are now four points clear of the relegation zone and Leicester will be targeting eight points from five games to help them climb further up the table.
Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss were both on the scoresheet and joined by Patson Daka, who scored his first goal since February following a spell out injured.
Daka was exceptional off the bench and could have a big role to play under the new Foxes boss, who has been a long-time admirer of the Zambia international.
Ruud van Nistelrooy tried to sign Patson Daka as PSV boss
Van Nistelrooy is one of the best Premier League players of the modern era and knows a good player when he sees one.
When Leicester signed Daka in 2021, the forward was one of the hottest propsects in world football after scoring goals for fun at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.
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Daka was at the centre of a transfer bidding war but in the end, chose Leicester, however, it could’ve been a different story.
Leicester City's Patson Daka celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and West Ham United...
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
In the latest episode of the Big Strong Leicester Boys podcast, special guest Tom Collomosse of the Daily Mail revealed that Van Nistelrooy has always been a fan of Daka and even tried to sign him when manager of PSV.
Collomosse said: “Van Nistelrooy had made a point of saying he had liked Patson Daka from when he was playing in Salzburg.
“He tried to sign him when at PSV and I’m really interested to see how that relationship develops.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy can bring the best out of Patson Daka
Daka’s goal against West Ham was an reminder of why the Foxes paid £23m to sign him.
Throughout his four seasons at the King Power Stadium, the forward has shown glimpses of the striker destined for the big stage – most notably, his four-goal haul against Spartak Moscow.
The 26-year-old’s record isn’t too bad if truth be told, scoring 23 goals from 99 games for Leicester, however, brought in to be the heir to the throne to Vardy, he still needs refining.
Under Van Nistelrooy, there won’t be many better mentors than the 48-year-old for Daka and given the previous interest the new Leicester boss has shown in him, the forward may finally have a manager to bring out the very best of him.
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