Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy has been tipped to take over at Eredivisie giants Ajax with former Netherlands team-mate Rafael van der Vaart labelling the Premier League icon a ‘very good coach’.
It never reflects particularly well on a manager when he is shunted out the door, only to see his replacement achieve far more than he did at the helm.
A PSV Eindhoven side who finished second in the table behind Feyenoord under Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2022/23 are now cruising ten points clear less than 12 months on under Peter Bosz.
On the other hand, however, you could argue that it was the good work Van Nistelrooy did at the Phillips Stadium which laid the foundations for his successor’s remarkable success.
Van Nistelrooy, one of the finest centre-forwards in Manchester United’s history, guided PSV to the Johan Cruyff Shield and the Dutch cup before departing amid a breakdown in relations, while also promoting the likes of Ismael Saibari and the now-United-linked Johan Bakayoko from the club’s academy.
Manchester United legend tipped for Ajax job
And, 20 years after Van Nistelrooy urged Man United to bring a young Van der Vaart to Old Trafford, the latter is now repeating the favour, tipping him to follow in Erik ten Hag’s Amsterdam footsteps.
“I have spoken to people. And it seems that Van Nistelrooy is really a very good coach,” Van der Vaart tells Studio Voetbal, backing his former Netherlands sparring partner after watching his beloved Ajax slip up again on Sunday, losing 2-0 at AZ Alkmaar.
“Well, let’s have Van Nistelrooy then. I want a big name to come to Ajax.”
Van Nistelrooy, a Premier League winner under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003 and one of the tournament’s most prolific number nines in history, won an impressive 33 out of 51 games in charge of PSV Eindhoven. That remains the 47-year-old’s only senior managerial role.
Is Rasmus Hojlund the new ‘RVN’?
Back at Old Trafford, meanwhile, the feeling is that Man United might finally have unearthed a bonafide diamond of a goalscorer capable of following in his esteemed Old Trafford footsteps in one Rasmus Hojlund.
“(Hojlund) attacks the box really well. He’s very smart,” Cesc Fabregas, the former Arsenal captain, tells BBC Sport. “He’s a Van Nistelrooy-type finisher when he gets his full confidence.
“I believe he can be a really top, top striker for United in the future.”
Hojlund is one of only four United players – alongside Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and a certain free-scoring Dutchman – to net in six successive Premier League games.
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