Ruud van Nistelrooy is close to making a swift Premier League return as the manager of Leicester City.

The Manchester United legend has held extensive talks with the Leicester hierarchy this week and is set to be confirmed as the replacement for Steve Cooper, who was sacked by the strugglers on Sunday afternoon.

Van Nistelrooy is crucially available with no compensation after recently leaving United, following an interim spell of four matches in charge after the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.

Leicester have discussed the post with the 48-year-old and, while the club’s hierarchy has been determined to explore a number of options, could appoint the former Netherlands international before the trip to Brentford on Saturday.

Other possible candidates, including former Chelsea manager Graham Potter, and ex-West Ham manager David Moyes, have both been ruled out by sources close to Leicester.

Van Nistelrooy may be considered a gamble, but he has experience of management with PSV Eindhoven, winning the KNVB Cup in the 2022-23 season before leaving near the end of that campaign.

During his interim spell at Old Trafford, he guided United to two victories over Cooper’s Leicester – first in the Carabao Cup, then the Premier League.

He has been a Uefa Pro-License holder for more than two years and previously coached the Netherlands team as an assistant to Ronald Koeman at Euro 2020.

Van Nistelrooy lifted a Premier League title, FA Cup and League Cup in a glittering five-year spell at United under Sir Alex Ferguson.

He also played for other heavyweight clubs, including Real Madrid and PSV, while appearing at three major tournaments for the Netherlands.

Leicester are 16th in the table, one point above the relegation zone. After Saturday’s match at Brentford, they face West Ham, Brighton, Newcastle and Wolves before Christmas, then Liverpool on Boxing Day and Manchester City on Dec 29.

Cooper was dismissed after the 2-1 home defeat by former Leicester head coach Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea on Saturday.

The 44-year-old was in charge for only 12 league games before the decision was taken by Leicester’s owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha to part company.