Just 45 minutes into his first Leicester City start, Woyo Coulibaly was substituted.
Eager to impress, he bombed around the pitch trying to make a difference in any way he could, but that only led to recklessness and he was booked for late aerial barge on Brentford’s Christian Norgaard.
“He had a great start to the game and was very dangerous in the attacking bit,” van Nistelrooy said of the £3m January signing. “He created a couple of chances.
“You saw also in the times he came on that he did really well. He’s adapting well in training.
“I brought him off because of his yellow card. We couldn’t face a second one and play the game with 10. That was the reason behind it. He’ll continue working and adapting here and will do well I think.”
But not only did he then lose his place for the next game at West Ham, James Justin immediately returning to the starting line-up after one game out with injury, but Coulibaly didn’t even make the bench. It seems he may have a minor injury.
As just one man, and as a right-back, it would have been unreasonable to expect Coulibaly to completely swing City’s fortunes around.
But if he can’t even make the matchday squad, he definitely can’t make an impact. If the sole January signing is being omitted from the 20-man line-up, it only serves to further lay bare the transfer woes at City and the PSR situation they got themselves into.
Because City did need game-changing signings in January. Ten years ago, the recruitment of Robert Huth on loan from Stoke was hugely influential in turning around City’s form and leading them to survival.
City won’t have that this season. Or perhaps they might. Because van Nistelrooy has one final ‘addition’ now coming in, again at right-back.
That word, addition, was how van Nistelrooy described Mads Hermansen and Wilfred Ndidi when they returned from injury lay-offs to join his squad again.
And Ricardo Pereira will be his last chance at another. The Portuguese full-back has returned to full training and is now in contention for match action.
Injuring his hamstring before van Nistelrooy was appointed, the Dutchman has not yet had a chance to work with Ricardo, and again it would be unfair to pin too many hopes on him turning City’s season around, especially given the concerns around his fitness and how he will need managing after four months out.
But he would give City an opportunity to play differently. The inverted full-back system was preferred by Enzo Maresca last season and Ricardo was the man who made it work, moving from right-back to join Harry Winks in midfield.
Steve Cooper tried it briefly in late October, before Ricardo’s injury, while van Nistelrooy used it with PSV Eindhoven too, and so he’s no stranger to that way of playing.
Playing that way would mean City’s full-backs don’t have to rampage forward to support the attack, and so should hopefully mean covering space on counter-attacks is easier.
It would also mean City’s wingers stay wide, always offering themselves as an outlet, rather than getting lost in the middle of the pitch.
And it would allow one of the midfielders to push forward to either join the attack or press the opposition with less risk of leaving gaps in behind them.
Certainly, if City’s run of form continues the way it is doing, then it has to be worth a shot. Ricardo may not be a game-changer, but City won’t know that unless they give him a try.
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