Ruud van Nistelrooy is poised to become the new Leicester City manager, making an almost immediate return to the Premier League after leaving Manchester United.

Van Nistelrooy, a United hero, is expected to succeed Steve Cooper, who was sacked last Sunday. His last game was a home defeat against his predecessor, Enzo Maresca, now in charge of high-flying Chelsea.

Leicester were interested in Graham Potter and Carlos Corberán prior to installing Cooper in the summer but this week held productive talks with Van Nistelrooy. The club were reluctant to pay compensation for a manager, making him an attractive option.

Van Nistelrooy previously had a short spell managing PSV Eindhoven, the club where he made his big breakthrough as a player, winning the Dutch Cup in 2023 before resigning, citing a lack of support within the club.

Leicester are 16th in the table, one point above the relegation zone. The Dutchman’s first game could be at Brentford on Saturday, before matches against West Ham, Brighton, Newcastle and Wolves. Leicester’s players returned to training on Tuesday, led by the first-team coach Ben Dawson, who joined from Newcastle in the summer, after a Christmas party in Copenhagen, where players were filmed dancing at a nightclub in front of a sign that read: “Enzo I miss you.”

Van Nistelrooy joined United as an assistant coach in July but was appointed interim head coach after the sacking of Erik ten Hag and oversaw four games, winning three, drawing one. Two of Van Nistelrooy’s wins in the United dugout came against Leicester, with a 5-2 win in the Carabao Cup before a 3-0 league victory in his final match in caretaker charge.