Leicestershire

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Leicester City defender Woyo Coulibaly made his international debut for Mali during their 1-0 friendly defeat by DR Congo on Thursday.

French-born full-back Coulibaly, 26, - signed by the Foxes from Parma for a reported £3m in January - was called up for the African nation for the first time in May, having switched nationalities from .

There was also a first for Hamza Choudhury, who scored his maiden goal for Bangladesh during their 2-0 victory over Bhutan on Wednesday.

The Foxes academy graduate, 27, nodded in opener in the sixth minute on just his second appearance for the Bengal Tigers.

"I can't imagine it's a situation that leaves a manager brimming with confidence that he's a man to lead the side forward or, in fact, the man the club want around.

"There is a growing possibility that the longer this goes on that Ruud van Nistelrooy will be the man to lead Leicester City into the Championship."

The When You're Smiling podcast team talk to journalists and fans about what Leicester City need to do in the transfer window - and whether shopping for a new manager is on the list.

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

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Leicester City's failure to clarify the future of manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has become increasingly "baffling", according to former Foxes striker Matty Fryatt.

The East Midlands club had relegation from the Premiers League confirmed on 20 April and the campaign came to an end nearly two weeks ago.

In just three weeks, Leicester will learn their schedule for the 2025-26 campaign when Championship fixtures are released. A week later and the squad is expected to assemble for preseason training.

"What a mess it is," Fryatt told BBC East Midlands Today.

"What is it, six weeks since relegation was confirmed and still they are no further along?

"Everyone needs some clarity, the ers and football club as a whole, because time is ticking."

Fryatt, however, does see that financial pressures and the timing of a possible sacking could be behind any delays.

Leicester have faced a number of profit and sustainability charges in recent years, with the latest – relating to an alleged breach of EFL financial rules for the 2023-24 season, when they were last in the second tier – coming in May.

"My only assumption would be that it's because of the financial implications that Ruud is still in charge," Fryatt said.

"Because if he was going to be the manager for next season, you would have thought you would have heard from the club, but there has been nothing, absolutely zero communication, which is baffling to me."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

It is the table no-one wants to be top of.

While some fans will feel pretty comfortable when their team goes in front, for others, it is just the start of what could prove to be an emotional rollercoaster.

The fans who had to suffer the disappointment of wondering 'what might have been' most were those of Tottenham.

If the Premier League season had come down to which side lost the most points from winning positions then Spurs would have been top of the pile.

There were 22 occasions in which Ange Postecoglou's team were in front, but they went on to win only half of those, with four ending in draws and seven in defeat.

While 'Ange-ball' provides entertainment, as shown in the Europa League final, if the Spurs boss had adapted on a few more occasions, they might have found themselves celebrating a more successful league campaign than one that left them a place above the relegation zone.

For Fulham fans, it was hard to know whether they were coming or going.

While they were one of the 'comeback kings' having picked up 21 points from losing positions, they also dropped 28 points from winning ones.

Rather than consistent inconsistency, boss Marco Silva will be hoping for less of a rollercoaster next campaign if they want to achieve their European dream.

There were not a lot occasions in which relegated Southampton and Ipswich were in front, but when they were, they struggled to see them through. The 28 and 27 points lost respectively could have been the difference-makers in the fight to stay up.

At the other end of the scale, Newcastle ers could often sit comfortably in the knowledge that when they went in front, they were unlikely to see any other result at the end.

In fact, of the 23 games in which they were in a winning position, they drew twice and lost just once - a confidence they will hope to take into the Champions League next season too.

Much was said of Chelsea's questionable defensive abilities and the maturity of such a young side. But despite this, they too were a team regularly able to see out a game they were leading - winning 20 of the 26 such occasions.

Two perhaps more surprising additions at this end of the table are relegated Leicester City and a Manchester United side who set unwanted club records for the season.

While there were not many occasions when the two sides were in a leading position - 10 for Leicester and 16 for United - between them they lost just three times and dropped only 10 and 11 points restrictively.

Some solace for ers in otherwise underwhelming campaigns.

*Table data from Football365