Ruud van Nistelrooy targets 'freakish' Man United wonderkid in January transfer window raid

Ruud van Nistelrooy is reportedly set to raid former club Manchester United to improve his Leicester City squad - with promising midfielder Toby Collyer among his January transfer targets.

Van Nistelrooy, who was appointed as the new Leicester manager following the sacking of Steve Cooper, made a dream start to life at the King Power Stadium with a 3-1 win over West Ham. And after a hectic couple of days, Van Nistelrooy is identifying areas of the squad that he wants to improve.

According to The Sun, Van Nistelrooy is planning to use his contacts at United to sign Collyer - on loan - during the January transfer window. The Dutchman believes the 20-year-old could be a key asset in the Foxes' bid to avoid the drop, as the club look to re-establish themselves as a Premier League mainstay.

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Although Van Nistelrooy is keen on signing Collyer on loan, United have no interest in selling Collyer, who joined the club's academy from Brighton two years ago. The highly-rated defensive midfielder worked closely with now former United manager Erik ten Hag and he made his top-flight debut against Liverpool in September. He has also produced "freakish" running stats in training that are only bettered by Bruno Fernandes.

A loan move for Collyer could be an option, however, especially to a manager who has worked alongside him before and will offer him opportunities in senior football. Collyer's last appearance for United came in their 7-0 thrashing of League One Barnsley in September, where he started and played the full 90 minutes.

Speaking about Collyer at the time, Ten Hag said: "He has had a very good pre-season.