Championship expert names which manager would be ‘perfect’ for Leicester City to replace Ruud Van Nistelrooy

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One manager who was sacked by a Premier League club earlier in the season has been tipped to return to management with Leicester City.

The turbulence from Leicester City’s relegation has spilled over into the post-season summer, with the club facing the prospect of one of the biggest points deductions in EFL history for alleged financial breaches.

In the dressing room, head coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy has a thankless task to keep his job this summer, but lots of Leicester fans believe he should be given a chance this season.

Several head coaches have been linked with the Foxes job, with Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl emerging as a frontrunner last week, after ex-Southampton boss Russell Martin snubbed Leicester for Rangers.

With uncertainty rife at Leicester ahead of the 2025/26 Championship, one second tier expert believes one out-of-work head coach would be the “perfect” appointment.

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Championship expert tips Gary O’Neil to become next Leicester City boss

Former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has been backed as the ideal potential replacement for Van Nistelrooy at the King Power Stadium this summer.

O’Neil remains out of work after he was sacked by top flight Wolves in December in the wake of their 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town, after 63 games in charge at Molineux.

Championship expert Justin Peach, of the Second Tier podcast, believes the 42-year-old would be the perfect acquisition for the Foxes this summer amid the search for a potential Van Nistelrooy successor.

Peach said: “Gary O’Neil is young, he’s got Premier League experience, for me, he’s a very adaptive manager.

“At Bournemouth, he favoured a counter-attacking style of football, again he’s adaptive.

“I think his football would create midfield runners from deep as well as bringing players in centrally, so if you’re playing against a low block, it’s going to work,

“So if he’s taking a top-end Championship job, when you’re going to come up against teams with low blocks, that style of football can break teams down.

“It is of a technical profile, and technical players thrived under him as well, Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto at Wolves, Dom Solanke at Bournemouth.

“I think a step down in the Championship would be right for him, and I actually think the Leicester job is probably perfect for him, because there’s a good technical profile of players there, they just need a number nine who can feed into it.”

O’Neil’s record as a manager in English football substantiates Peach’s appraisal thoroughly and highlights why the Foxes hierarchy should be looking to secure O’Neil’s services this summer, especially when compared to Van Nistelrooy’s record.

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Gary O’Neil’s managerial record compared to Leicester boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy

O’Neil was sacked by Bournemouth in the summer of 2023 despite overseeing their survival, and was appointed by Wolves the following August, in place of Julien Lopetegui.

Former EFL veteran O’Neil enjoyed an impressive debut season in the Molineux dugout, seeing Wolves beat champions Manchester City 2-1, leading Wolves to a Black Country derby win at West Brom, and securing a 14th-place finish.

However, his second season was vastly different, and the Englishman was sacked with Wolves 19th in the league and four points from safety.

Since his Wolves sacking, O’Neil had been touted for the Middlesbrough job, but Boro fans were in complete agreement they didn’t want him to return to the team he played over 100 times for.

When comparing O’Neil and Van Nistelrooy’s managerial records, the more prosperous option on paper is clear to see, with O’Neil having a far greater win rate than the Dutchman across both their spells as head coaches in the Premier League.

Peach’s claims that O’Neil would be the “perfect” replacement for Van Nistelrooy, therefore, appear to stack up, as the Foxes hierarchy continues their search for his successor.