Leicester City supporters are thankful for an exciting and prosperous era under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
In his first two games in charge, Ruud van Nistelrooy has secured a 3-1 win over West Ham while Leicester clinched a 2-2 draw against Brighton last weekend.
Opta still tips Leicester to be relegated from the Premier League, but under the Dutchman’s guidance, supporters are confident they can survive.
That wasn’t a narrative shared by the fanbase during Steve Cooper’s time in charge, as most were left uninspired by the football and resigned to their relegation fate.
Cooper made many wrong decisions at the King Power Stadium, including his poor defensive tactics, his obsession with playing James Justin and his refusal to start Ricardo Pereira.
However, there is one call the Welshman got correct and that is now evident at the start of van Nistelrooy’s era.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid of Leicester City celebrates scoring the second goal for Leicester City with Boubakary Soumare of Leicester City during the P...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Steve Cooper helped turn Boubakary Soumare’s Leicester career around
When Leicester were gunning for the Championship title last term, Boubakary Soumare was flying the flag on loan at Spanish giants Sevilla.
The Frenchman enjoyed a fruitful loan spell in Spain as he featured 24 times in La Liga, while Ian Wright dubbed Soumare as ‘so good’ against Arsenal in the Champions League.
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Upon his return to the King Power, Soumare was expected to leave Leicester as the 25-year-old fielded interest from AS Roma towards the end of August.
There was a feeling that his time in a Foxes shirt was up but the £17 million signing had other ideas under Cooper, with the 45-year-old awarding him his first Premier League start of the season against Man United in October.
Although the game ended in a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, the ball-winning machine has since started in each of their previous four games.
He’s impressed during that time, including in the draw at Brighton, where Leicester fans praised Soumare as the ‘best player’ on the pitch.
Unfortunately, the only blemish on his performance was picking up a yellow card, which will now see him miss the trip to Newcastle this weekend.
Soumare could field January transfer interest
Soumare is finally showing why Leicester signed him in 2021, and while that is good for van Nistelrooy, it’s only going to elevate interest in his signature next month.
As highlighted by FBref, Soumare ranks in the top 18% of Premier League midfielders for successful take-ons, the top 21% for passes attempted, and the top 27% for aerials won.
To say he’s only started five league games this term, the above figures are impressive, and perhaps they indicate what is to come.
That being said, don’t be surprised to see some bigger clubs come calling for the Leicester star in January, as his talent belongs on the European stage.
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