Ruud van Nistelrooy reveals three things Man United forwards must do to learn from him

Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed the three things Manchester United’s forwards must do to learn from him.

The former United striker scored 150 goals for the club across a five-year period and has now rejoined as Erik ten Hag’s new assistant manager.

Despite managing the first team at PSV Eindhoven, the Dutchman has returned to Old Trafford, and people are already excited about what he can teach Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee.

“He is a very ambitious manager. He has a great skill set. He will help the team – definitely attacking-wise,” said Ten Hag of the former striker.

However, some would argue that Van Nistelrooy’s brilliance as a player cannot be simply taught. After all, it has been labelled as a ‘striker’s instinct’.

This is not the case in the mind of Van Nistelrooy, however, who spoke with former United defender Ronny Johnsen ahead of their opening pre-season friendly against Rosenborg.

He explained to the 1999 Treble winner what the club’s current forwards must do to learn from his goalscoring expertise.

Johnsen recalled the conversation to MUTV: “I had a long chat with Ruud, and that was something we are talking about. Is it possible to give away the things you were good at to the young guys?

“He said ‘yes, as long as they are ready to learn, listen and try really hard’.”

Johnsen added: “What a finisher he was. He was so accurate, so quick, and so precise, it was so difficult for goalkeepers.”

The 48-year-old was pictured in deep conversation with Marcus Rashford ahead of the clash in Norway, and many will hope that he can help the English forward find his form for next season.

Højlund and Zirkzee will likely join up with the team for the United States tour, and both players will be eager to start working with the club legend.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.