Enzo Maresca spoke with Ruud van Nistelrooy about his former club Leicester City (Image: CHELSEA FC)
boss has revealed that he spoke with before the Dutchman left and took over at .
Last week, the Foxes confirmed they had appointed Van Nistelrooy as their new manager following Steve Cooper’s dismissal. The former United striker oversaw two victories over Leicester during his interim spell at Old Trafford after was sacked.
Quizzed on the latest developments at his former club, Maresca revealed that Van Nistelrooy reached out to pick his brains before taking over at the King Power Stadium.
Maresca also spoke about Chelsea’s hopes of winning the Premier League title (Image: GETTY)
“He called me days ago, before he took over there,” said the manager. “We had a conversation. I told him Leicester is a fantastic club, great people. In the end, he decided to go.”
Van Nistelrooy will take charge of his first Leicester match when they host West Ham United on Tuesday evening. He will be hoping to steer them away from danger, with the Foxes just one point above the relegation zone as things stand.
Maresca was also quizzed on why are not being tipped as title contenders despite being on the same points as , who are only ahead of the Blues on goal difference.
“They have been there is the last two years, very close to ,” he replied. “We have not been there. They were very, very close to City. , they have been there, we have not been there. Hopefully soon we could be there.”
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Maresca went on to suggest that it is only a matter of time before return to the summit, given their heavy investment in youth over the last few seasons.
“In the next five, ten years, because of the age, can be one of the sides that dominate English football,” he explained.
“I think we are in the right direction and in terms of personal target, I know from outside you struggle to believe. I’m focused about Southampton, but I’m not focused about end of the season.”
Looking ahead to ‘s next game against the Saints, Maresca said: “It’s the toughest game since we start the season. We need to be ready.
“If you analyse the results, they are there in terms of performance. They were winning against , they were 1-0 against . I was in the Championship last year, I know them very well.”