Ruud van Nistelrooy is shaking things up at Leicester City and that looks to be bad news for one player.
Leicester City appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as the replacement for Steve Cooper in late November.
The Dutchman was confirmed as boss late on Friday the 29th of November, meaning he did not take charge of the Premier League clash with Brentford the following day.
Van Nistelrooy instead watched the fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium from the stands and was likely unimpressed with his side’s showing on the day.
Leicester were thumped 4-1 and their defence on the day was, as made obvious by the fact they conceded three goals, pretty dire.
That was not the first time the Foxes have proven to be inept defensively this term, conceding the third-most goals in the top flight and managing just one clean sheet before the latest round of games.
Caleb Okoli of Leicester City during the Leicester City Training Session and press conference at Seagrave Training Complex on December 12, 2024 in ...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Caleb Okoli may have Leicester City transfer regret
Leicester opted to deploy a back-three for the Brentford defeat, with one of their centre-backs on the day Caleb Okoli.
The 23-year-old joined the Midlands side from Atalanta BC over the summer and had featured in nine Premier League games under Cooper.
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Okoli was taken off in the first half of the loss to the Bees, but Van Nistelrooy confirmed ahead of his debut game versus West Ham United, as per Leicestershire Live, that he ‘was part of team training and looked good’.
Despite the Italian being fit though, Ruud opted to leave him on the bench for the Hammers clash and did the same thing a few days later when Leicester drew 2-2 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
It’s clear that the Vicenza-born star has fallen firmly down the pecking order under his new manager, with Wout Faes even seeing minutes off the bench under Van Nistelrooy ahead of Okoli despite him putting in some woeful displays of late.
In turn, Okoli may now be regretting his decision to join Leicester and if he continues to be left on the bench in the coming weeks, he could decide a January move is needed.
Leicester City Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy during the Leicester City Training Session and press conference at Seagrave Training Complex on December...
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Conor Coady and Jannik Vestergaard have started as the 48-year-old’s centre-back pairing during his first to games at the helm.
We learned recently that Van Nistelrooy wants to build his Leicester team around Vestergaard and one other player.
This is bad news for Okoli as his chances of getting back into the starting line-up now look pretty low.
Van Nistelrooy did comment on Leicester’s centre-backs recently, suggesting he would need them all.
But, as we understand, a new stopper is on the agenda in January, which again, will likely hinder the former Atalanta man.
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