New Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy ‘astonished’ by offers

New Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy says he was “astonished” by the amount of interest in him after his brief spell as Manchester United boss.

The former Netherlands striker replaced Steve Cooper on Friday on a deal until 2027, but said he could have gone elsewhere.

He was in interim charge for four games at Old Trafford, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag, before leaving when Ruben Amorim was appointed last month.

Leicester moved quickly to bring the 48-year-old to King Power Stadium, and Van Nistelrooy confirmed he had options.

“I have to say there were offers there and possibilities. It’s good to have them and look and be critical on where you’re going to work,” said the Dutchman.

“What happened after the games and the amount of interest, the options that all of a sudden were there for me and the options that came along, I was a little bit astonished.

“I went into conversations with Leicester because I thought, having spoken to other people, it was a great opportunity to get to know each other.

“It was a good feeling and in the end both parties felt it. That was a good reason to start working together.”

Van Nistelrooy was in charge at PSV Eindhoven in 2022-23, winning the Dutch Cup and finishing second in the Eredivisie, while he has also gained experience coaching the Netherlands and PSV Under-19s.

“It was four games [at United] and I managed a full season at PSV, was able to win the cup and the charity shield. I have been in coaching, in the 19s and the national [team] and it never got this reaction from the football world,” he added.

“It provoked these reactions – and I was only happy with that.”

He takes over with Leicester 16th in the Premier League, a point above the bottom three, before Tuesday’s visit of West Ham (20:15 GMT).

Van Nistelrooy watched Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Brentford from the stands and is already clear of the target this season.

He said: “The expectations are clear, they are not easy but they are clear. It is something we face, that challenge to maintain and play in the Premier League and that is the big target for everybody.”

Van Nistelrooy will link up with striker Jamie Vardy, who broke his record for scoring in consecutive Premier League games when he netted in 11 matches in row in 2015-16, on the way to winning the title.

“It’s a problem, of course, that he broke my record!” said Van Nistelrooy.

“I told him straight away ‘we have a big issue we need to get out of the way before we can even start together’.

“I think I beat him to it. Of course back in the day I made a tweet about breaking the record and wishing him well, and then nine years later – it’s weird how things go sometimes.”