Burnley are in ‘discussions’ with Man Utd legend over vacant manager’s job

Burnley could offer Manchester United winger Ruud van Nistelrooy a return to management as they look to replace Vincent Kompany after being poached by Bayern Munich.

Van Nistelrooy has been unemployed for the past year after leaving PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2023, citing a lack of support. He has won the Dutch Cup for the club, and many of his side beat Arne Slot’s Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title last season.

BBC Sport reported that Burnley, who did not lack the desire to make Kompany the first overseas manager, held talks with Van Nistelrooy. There have also been links with Frank Lampard and Scott Parker, both of whom have Premier League experience but are inactive, but Van Nistelrooy is rumored to be close to agreeing a “multi-year deal” at Turf Moor.

The 47-year-old striker has previously managed Jong PSV, as well as the club’s Under-19 team, and met several stars as an assistant in the Netherlands national team.

Van Nistelrooy retired as a player in 2012 after spells with Hamburg and Malaga. He first made a name for himself in the late 1990s with PSV, scoring 77 goals in 90 games, and was on the verge of joining Manchester United for £18.5m in the summer of 2000 until injury problems saw the deal delayed and eventually cancelled. The next day, the striker ruptured his ACL.

But the deal was canceled a year later, resulting in Van Nistelrooy becoming one of the greatest goalscorers in Premier League history, and arguably a figure in Old Trafford lore.

He netted two goals on his Premier League debut in 2001 and went on to score 36 goals in all competitions in his first season, bagging a further 44 in his second. In five years, including a long injury spell in the 2004/05 campaign, Van Nistelrooy averaged 30 goals a season in a United shirt, before calling it quits in 2006 and joining Real Madrid.

In Spain, Van Nistelrooy became the top goalscorer in the newly minted La Liga in 2006/07 when Madrid won the title, but a combination of age and injuries saw his goals quickly end.

He played at Turf Moor once during his career, starting for Manchester United in a League Cup match in December 2002. Diego Forlan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who replaced the Dutchman at half-time, scored in a 2-0 win over Sir. Alex Ferguson’s team.

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