Roy Keane's honest verdict on Leicester & Van Nistelrooy | OneFootball

Some may view the former Manchester United midfielder, Roy Keane, as harsh. His latest comments concerning the current Leicester boss are valid, however. Often invited as a pundit, while speaking before the Liverpool fixture, the Sky Sports panel shared their thoughts on the current LCFC situation.

Naturally, there isn't too much room for positivity or optimism. This is a City side that ensured their play in the Championship for the upcoming season. Throughout the Premier League campaign, it has been rough sledding, and the months have been mostly frustrating and an eyesore more than anything else.

His calling of Foxes as a 'Championship side' is only accurate. It isn't debatable at this point. Too often the competitiveness hasn't been there. The quality isn't at the needed level in order to consistently compete in the Prem. Outworking the opposition and hustle can sometimes make up for the talent gap. When the needed levels to pose a threat are too low, as fans have seen, it can get ugly very quickly.

Right now this is a second-tier-level team. Some have expressed concern about City possibly facing double relegation. That is unlikely, though. Despite the issues surrounding the club, even in the worst-case sell-off scenarios, they would still be able to field a solid side among the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday.

Either way, Keane's assessment of the Foxes is a known reality that supporters have come to grips with for quite a while now. The real discussions will need to shift to what happens next. From deciding what happens at the manager position to navigating the looming roster movement, a lot will happen this summer. Moving on from Ruud van Nistelrooy looks like a question of when rather than if at this point.

Looking ahead for Leicester

A number of players will undoubtedly want to leave. Someone like Mads Hermansen can and should be playing in the top flight in one of Europe's leagues. Other situations like that of Jamie Vardy become a little more complicated. He's expressed his desire to stay with LCFC in the past, but even he may have now changed his mind and wishes to be on a better side that's more in the mix for his final years.

Either way, as things stand and how they will after a potential exodus, this is not an EPL roster. There are a lot of proud moments that the club can look back on with pride. At present, the focus needs to be on working to overcome the latest embarrassment that all have witnessed in 2024-2025.