Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to return to Man Utd in a coaching capacity (Image: Getty Images)
Ruud van Nistelrooy, a former striker for Manchester United who scored 150 goals in 219 appearances, is expected to return to the team as a coach, with Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund expected to be the main beneficiaries.
The attempt by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new administration to add former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to their coaching staff is more than just a sentimental PR ploy.
Over a five-year span, Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals from 219 appearances, making him one of United’s most prolific goal scorers ever. The Dutchman averaged 30 goals per season.
With just 57 goals in the Premier League at the end of the previous season—the joint fewest in the top half of the table—United’s strikers could use some advice from an expert on how to get goals.
A part of Erik ten Hag’s new contract with United will involve changing about his coaching staff; it is unlikely that Benni McCarthy, the forwards coach, would rejoin the team for preseason play.
This has made it possible for Van Nistelrooy to rejoin fellow countryman Ten Hag at United; Ratcliffe and his football executive team are rumoured to have approved the 47-year-old’s return.
Van Nistelrooy’s tenure at United may have ended in discord; upon his news of his dismissal, he stormed out of Old Trafford before the final match of the 2005–06 season against Charlton.
Following their disagreement with Sir Alex Ferguson, Van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid that summer and resumed his prolific scoring career, amassing 64 goals in 96 games.
However, Van Nistelrooy has long since reconciled with his former manager Ferguson, and after Ten Hag’s team scored so few goals the previous season, his return to United will be viewed as a wise decision.
Marcus Rashford scored just eight goals the previous season after setting a career-high thirty the season before, while new £72 million acquisition Rasmus Hojlund doubled that amount in his first year on the pitch.
Both strikers have so much more to give in terms of goals scored, and Hojlund in particular has a lot to learn from Van Nistelrooy about the skill of consistently finding the back of the net by being in the right place at the right time.
When it came to movement within the six-yard box, Van Nistelrooy was unmatched. He had a sixth sense for when to time his runs to perfection in order to latch onto crosses and loose balls and turn them over the line in a predatory manner—a skill that Hojlund struggled with the previous season.
Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund will be both be hoping to benefit ( Image: PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Currently in his tenth season as a coach, Van Nistelrooy has established a strong reputation for himself in this new chapter of his career. He began by mentoring PSV Eindhoven’s youth team and helping out former Holland managers Guus Hiddink and Ronald Koeman. He then spent a season leading PSV to the Dutch Cup before quitting due to what he saw as a lack of support.
Van Nistelrooy is set to make an emotional return to United after turning down the opportunity to replace Vincent Kompany and take over at the recently relegated Burnley. Erik ten Hag may find his goal-scoring prowess invaluable as he looks to move past the upheaval of the previous season and justify the decision to stick with him.
