Nigel Pearson lands OH Leuven job as ex-Leicester boss makes return to management with second-tier Belgian side
Former Foxes manager's last time in charge of a club was at Championship side Derby County in 2016
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NIGEL PEARSON has made a stunning return to management by taking over at second-tier Belgian side OH Leuven.
The former Leicester and Derby boss has been without a job for 11 months and will now look to rebuild his reputation abroad.
Leuven are owned by King Power International, who also own Leicester City.
And it means Pearson is working for the same people who once fired him – the Srivaddhanaprabha family.
Pearson had been linked with a whole host of jobs this year following his Derby exit.
Former club Leicester were considering re-hiring him after sacking Claudio Ranieri.
But the board decided to give assistant Craig Shakespeare a go before hiring him permanently in the summer.
Sunderland also held talks with Pearson as a replacement for David Moyes but eventually opted for Simon Grayson instead.
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Pearson also lost out to Garry Monk in the race to become Middlesbrough boss, despite declaring his interest in the Riverside job on live TV.
Pearson told Goals on Sunday: “Yes I would be (interested). You have a good chance to come up if you keep the right players together, for sure.
“Out of the Premier League for seven years, they worked hard to get back there, and it’s been a year that they’ll reflect on maybe with some regret.
“It’s certainly disappointing. Having been there myself for four years, it’s a really good club.”
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