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Manchester United approached former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy about a position on Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff, according to world football insider Fabrizio Romano.
BBC Sport’s Shamoon Hafez reported earlier in the week Championship side Burnley has also reached out to Van Nistelrooy to replace Vincent Kompany as its manager.
The 47-year-old had a decorated playing career, one that included a lengthy tenure at Old Trafford. He scored 95 goals in 150 Premier League appearances across five seasons, winning a league title in 2002-03 and helping United lift the FA Cup in 2003-04.
Success has been more elusive in Van Nistelrooy’s coaching career.
The retired Dutch star first worked as an assistant under Netherlands national team coach Guus Hiddink in 2014 and returned to the Oranje in 2020 in preparation for the European Championship. In between those spells, he was on the staff for PSV Eindhoven’s youth team.
PSV handed Van Nistelrooy his first senior management opportunity when he took over for Roger Schmidt, who exited at the end of the 2021-22 season. While the club went on to match its Eredivisie runner-up finish in 2022-23, he abruptly resigned with one match remaining and cited a lack of organizational support.
Hiring Van Nistelrooy would make sense for a number of reasons for Manchester United. Though much has changed behind the scenes since his departure in 2006, he has a general familiarity with the club. Bringing another Dutchman onto the staff may help Ten Hag better get his message across to the players as well.
Having said that, the presence of a club legend such as Van Nistelrooy in an official capacity might only add to the pressure on Ten Hag. It’s easy to foresee plenty of supporters calling for Van Nistelrooy to take over in the event United struggles out of the gate.
This could all be a moot point because managing Burnley, which got relegated after earning promotion to the Premier League in 2023, could be an attractive vacancy. Kompany parlayed his time with the Clarets into landing the Bayern Munich job this summer despite their relegation.
Were Van Nistelrooy to navigate Burnley back to the top division, it would burnish his reputation more than working as an assistant at United could.
Source link: Report: Manchester United Target Ruud van Nistelrooy for Erik ten Hag's Staff