Ruud van Nistelrooy has been left frustrated during his brief spell as Leicester City manager and history suggests he could walk out of the club.
Ruud van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper as Leicester City manager in late November 2024.
The Dutchman had previously enjoyed a brief spell as interim manager of Manchester United, with whom he secured two wins over the Foxes in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
Since arriving at the King Power Stadium, however, it has been a largely frustrating couple of months for the ex-Red Devil.
In the league, Leicester have fallen to seven straight defeats and though a win over Tottenham Hotspur did see them escape the bottom three this week, their battle for survival is far from over.
As a result, it seemed obvious that the Midlands outfit would have an active winter transfer window.
That has not transpired so far, however, and history suggests Van Nistelrooy could be just over 48 hours away from walking.
Ruud van Nistelrooy not happy with Leicester City backing
A report from the Daily Mail this week detailed what the manager asked for on the transfer front when he arrived at Leicester while also suggesting rising tension and frustration.
Meanwhile, we spoke to transfer expert Graeme Bailey recently who told us that Van Nistelrooy is far from happy with how things have worked out at Leicester.
He said: “Van Nistelrooy came in knowing what he has on his plate, it was never going to be easy but I am told he was assured he would be backed, with at least three new arrivals and one of those was a striker.
“A striker is still wanted, but I understand he has been far from happy with how things have gone so far and has made his thoughts clear to the hierarchy.”
With tension clearly on the rise between Ruud and the owners, there could be a real chance he walks out of the club.
There are just over 48 hours of the winter transfer window to go at the time of writing and at present, another new arrival is not close.
Van Nistelrooy history suggests he could walk out of Leicester City
If no more players are signed before the deadline on February 3rd, there may be a chance Van Nistelrooy walks because of a lack of support from the club.
It would not be the first time the former centre-forward has done this, pretty famously leaving PSV Eindhoven at the end of a very successful campaign that saw him win two domestic cups.
As per GOAL, PSV put out a statement when Ruud left them after just one season as senior manager, citing ‘not enough support within the club’.
They wrote: “Head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy announced on Wednesday morning that he would leave PSV. After several discussions about internal affairs that have taken place in recent weeks, a meeting took place on Tuesday evening between the Board of Directors and Van Nistelrooy. It was decided to keep the focus on next Sunday’s match against AZ and to continue talking after the season.
“Van Nistelrooy reported this morning that in his opinion there was not enough support within the club to continue longer.”
If Van Nistelrooy was willing to walk out of a club that won two trophies and were competing in Europe because he didn’t feel supported, he will surely have no issues leaving a Leicester team sat at the bottom end of the Premier League – especially if the reports are true and he did want four players signed in the winter window.