Erik ten Hag – Ruud van Nistelrooy influence at Manchester United speaks volume 

Erik ten Hag – Ruud van Nistelrooy influence at Manchester United speaks volume 

 

Ruud van Nistelrooy has returned to Manchester United to work as a coach under Erik ten Hag and the Dutchman has been working closely with the strikers during pre-season

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy led Man United’s training session

Ruud van Nistelrooy led Manchester United’s training session on Friday and encouraged a change in attacking approach.

 

The Dutchman, renowned as one of the Premier League’s most deadly finishers, has chosen to return to Old Trafford to serve as a coach under Erik ten Hag. Van Nistelrooy’s focus will be on enhancing United’s productivity in the final third, and he has been encouraging the team to maximise the use of their wingers.

 

United have set up camp at UCLA’s Wallis Annenberg Stadium, where Van Nistelrooy led an attacking drill. According to the Daily Mail, teams were awarded double points for scoring directly from a cross, with specific areas marked out to highlight the zones to target.

 

Van Nistelrooy is evidently trying to encourage United’s players to make better use of their wide men and underscore the benefits of delivering balls into the box. Some of the club’s most promising talents, such as Alejandro Garnacho, are known for their wide play.

 

 

Rasmus Hojlund demonstrated last season that he can pose a threat when balls are crossed into the box, which could be a factor behind United’s new training drills. Last term, the Reds were tied for the lowest number of goals scored among the top ten teams in the Premier League, netting just 57 times.

 

 

This was 39 fewer than the league’s highest-scoring team, partly due to some of their key attackers underperforming. Marcus Rashford’s lacklustre performance last season, following his most successful campaign to date, has not gone unnoticed. Ten Hag is optimistic that the expertise of Van Nistelrooy, who netted 150 goals during his five-year stint at United, will be instrumental in helping Rashford return to peak form.

 

Speaking on the matter, Ten Hag said: “That is a reason why he is here, but not only for the strikers. He is much more than this but Rashford can only prove himself and he is capable of it. He has scored so many goals already at a relatively young age. So, he’s capable of it. So I’m confident and 100 per cent believe he can do the same as two years ago.”

 

In a bid to bolster their attack, United have secured the services of striker Joshua Zirkzee. However, Zirkzee hasn’t joined the squad for pre-season in LA due to an extended break after reaching the semi-finals of the Euros with his national team.

 

It is expected that Zirkzee will join the team at Carrington the week after the Community Shield clash on August 10.