![Enzo Maresca [L] when he was Leicester City manager in 2024. Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy [R] encourages his side.](https://cdn1.leicestercity.news/uploads/48/2025/04/Maresca-Van-Nistelrooy-1140x641.png)
Enzo Maresca has offered some words of advice to Ruud van Nistelrooy on how he can unlock the best out of one ‘top’ Leicester City star.
Maresca knows this Leicester squad as well as anyone else having guided them to the Championship title last season before making the move to Chelsea.
Whilst the Italian was able to get a tune out of the team, Ruud van Nistelrooy is finding it much harder, and has won less games (three) than his predecessor managed in his first four games (four) in charge of the Foxes.
One player was crucial to the Maresca system and he has given his tip on how the struggling Foxes boss can utilise him.
Enzo Maresca makes Ricardo Pereira and Reece James comparison
Everyone who has watched the Leicester and Chelsea sides set up know how Maresca likes to play.
Lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the right-back will always play an inverted role, therefore joining the midfield when in possession by moving into the middle and allowing the rest of the defence to form a back three. That’s where Ricardo Pereira came in.
Under Steve Cooper and Van Nistelrooy though, Pereira hasn’t experienced that and when asked on what the Chelsea boss was doing to manage Reece James’ fitness, he alluded to how he deployed Pereira as part of his insight, as well as labelling him as a ‘top player’.
He said: “In terms of data, you can see that when a full-back plays in the way they used to play, up and down, they (do that) much, much, much more (often) than to go inside, covering a (bigger) distance, for the amount of times they go up and down.
“Last year at Leicester we had Ricardo Pereira, that he potentially could be a top player for a top team, but because of his injuries… Last year with us he played all the games, we changed a little bit and that works quite well.”
Pereira hoping to get long-awaited start
It’s been a difficult season for Pereira to say the least.
After playing such an integral role the season before, it was a surprise to see Cooper drop him for James Justin, who has struggled for form all campaign.
Injury then followed and after four months out on the sidelines, Pereira has had two brief spells off the bench. A start against Brighton would be his first in five months and his experience couldn’t come at a better time.