Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy has had an eventful season in England after agreeing to join Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff at the start of the campaign.
The optimism of Van Nistelrooy joining forces with Ten Hag feels a long time ago now given where the pair now find themselves at.
A disappointing start to the season meant Ten Hag was relieved of his duties in October, which left Van Nistelrooy in limbo with regards to his position at Old Trafford.
The former striker took interim charge of the club until Ruben Amorim’s appointment after which the Dutchman was forced to depart the club.
The former Netherlands international certainly steadied the ship at Old Trafford and those impressive results saw Van Nistelrooy get linked with plenty of top jobs in the English game before he finally took charge of Premier League side Leicester City.
However, things haven’t quite gone to plan for the 48-year-old with the Foxes losing their last seven league games as they languish in 19th place in the table.
The woeful run of form has left Van Nistelrooy with a huge fight on his hands to avoid relegation and in need of a major upturn in fortunes at the King Power Stadium.
As reported by The Manchester Evening News, former United defender Jaap Stam has offered his services to his compatriot should the Foxes boss feel the need for some extra experience in his coaching ranks.
Stam was asked on Viaplay if he would be interested in assisting Van Nistelrooy at Leicester and gave a positive response.
“Yes,” he said, before adding “if Ruud were to call, I would certainly do so.”
Leicester have failed to keep a clean sheet under Van Nistelrooy and Stam could prove to be a handy asset to fix a leaky defence that needs to tighten up if they are to stay in the division.
Stam is currently in charge of Dutch seventh-tier outfit DOS Kampen, an amateur side from his hometown.
Despite the pair’s time together at United only being fleeting, they were teammates in the Dutch national setup which would have allowed the duo to develop a cordial relationship.
United fans will certainly have an interest in the reunion but will hope Leicester don’t find their form before the FA Cup clash between the two clubs in February.
Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester face Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend with United travelling to Fulham after their Europa League Clash with Rangers on Thursday night.
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
