Ruud van Nistelrooy is being tipped as a potential successor to Erik ten Hag should Manchester United opt to make a change in the dugout – but a key reason has emerged why the former striker is wary of succeeding his countryman.
Questions continue to be asked about who will be in the United dugout moving forwards after an inconsistent start to this season, which is Ten Hag’s third in charge at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag’s first season at United saw a third place finish in the Premier League and winning the League Cup, but last campaign was a fall in standards.
An FA Cup victory over Manchester City saw silverware won, but United slumped to eighth in the top flight and suffered a disappointing exit in the Champions League at the group stage.
This campaign, United have been inconsistent to say the least, with the Old Trafford club currently sitting 14th in the Premier League table.
United take on Aston Villa at Villa Park this afternoon in the final top flight gameday before the international break, and many are wondering what course of action the OId Trafford hierarchy could take should three points not be taken against Unai Emery’s side, who beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek.
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Former United striker Van Nistelrooy rejoined his old club over the summer as Ten Hag’s assistant as changes happened in the backroom staff.
Van Nistelrooy is a modern day United legend, having scored 150 goals in 226 appearances across five seasons at Old Trafford in a prolific goalscoring spell.
The former Netherlands international was brought to the club by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2001 from PSV Eindhoven for £19m and he won the Premier League title, FA Cup and League Cup in his time at United, before moving to Real Madrid in 2006.
After ending his playing career with spells at Hamburg and Malaga, Van Nistelrooy embarked upon a coaching career which has included stints with the Dutch national team and PSV.
Van Nistelrooy spent just over a season in charge of PSV, but departed towards the end of the 2022/23 season as he cited a lack of support behind the scenes.
And it seems the experience at PSV has made him wary of taking over the reigns at Old Trafford if Ten Hag is axed.
According to the Daily Mirror, Van Nistelrooy will be offered the United job as an interim if Ten Hag does depart in due course, but he does not want to be seen an as ‘opportunist’ if such circumstances arise, and he is concerned about being seen as betraying the current United boss if he does lose his employment.
An anonymous Dutch source said: “Van Nistelrooy is a principled guy. He felt betrayed at Eindhoven – and he will not want to be viewed as the man who went behind Erik ten Hag’s back.”
