Leicester City to confirm Russell Martin as Ruud Van Nistelrooy successor | OneFootball

Martin is edging closer to becoming the club's new boss.

Leicester City are set to appoint Russell Martin this week.

Speculation around the Leicester managerial position has loomed for a while now. It has felt like the writing has been on the wall for current boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy for some time now, and he even called on the club to come to a decision on his future sooner rather than later for their benefit, not his.

Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett had before that reported that it was unlikely that the Dutchman would stay in a job and the club were already beginning to think about life without him. Many names have been linked, but Martin's is the one that they are reportedly set to land on.

Leicester City set to appoint Russell Martin

The appointment of the former Southampton boss is set to be completed "imminently" according to Mail Sport, with the long-anticipated departure of Van Nistelrooy soon to be confirmed as well.

He was named as a potential successor to the former Manchester United striker more than a month ago, but the Foxes weren't the only ones in for him. Rangers were reportedly interested too, and Martin wasn't the only one that Leicester were said to be looking at either.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl and Sean Dyche were rumoured to be in the running to take over from Van Nistelrooy once he departed.

Martin led Southampton to promotion via the play-offs in the 2023/24 campaign when Leicester won the Championship with Enzo Maresca at the helm. He then struggled to get results in the Premier League and was sacked by the Hampshire side in September.

In a recent appearance on Match of the Day 2, the 39-year-old revealed that he had turned down offers to return to coaching since leaving St Mary's. If/when he is appointed by Leicester, he will be looking to replicate the promotion success that Enzo Maresca realised the last time the club were in the Championship.

Leicester, though, could start next season with a heavy points deduction after being charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of financial rules. They could have as many as 12 points taken off them before the 2025/26 campaign even begins, which could massively dent their hopes of a quick return to the Premier League.

Russell Martin will have a big job on his hands to fix Leicester

With the current financial situation, the state of the squad and the likelihood that a lot of their best players will want to leave, this will not be a plug and play operation for Martin to walk into. He won't be able to simply come in and make tweaks here and there. Fundamental changes will need to be made.

That is sure to be the case on the playing side of things. His possession-heavy, dogmatic approach to football isn't one that Leicester will be unfamiliar with because of their time with Maresca at the helm, but it will be a bit of a change from what they have had this season.

A good number of the players from the Italian's team are still left, which should make life a bit easier for Martin, but this is by no means a simple problem for him to fix.