20-year-old Belgian star reveals Ruud van Nistelrooy is “keeping an eye” on his performances

Belgian star Kjell Peersman, 20, has revealed that Manchester United assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy is “keeping an eye” on his performances.

Ruud van Nistelrooy became Erik ten Hag‘s assistant coach at Manchester United ahead of the 2024 pre-season tour, as the club completely revamped the coaching structure at Carrington.

Aside from the former United marksman, Rene Hake and Andreas Georgson also joined to replace the departing Steve McClaren, Benni McCarthy, and Mitchell van der Gaag.

Read More: Erik ten Hag “really enjoyed” two Man United stars vs Brentford, it’s bad news for £20m signing

So far, Van Nistelrooy has been incredibly active on the touchline, getting very much stuck into his new job—so much so that he has already received two yellow cards in the opening few months of the campaign.

However, the former Dutch striker seems to have been active not only in the technical area but also across the scouting network.

Lierse SK goalkeeper Kjell Peersman has revealed that, following the pair’s time together at PSV, he remains in contact with Van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy handed him nine appearances during his time in charge of PSV, including his debut in January 2022.

Peersman is currently on loan in Belgium from PSV’s academy set up in order to gain vital first-team experience. He has revealed that Van Nistelrooy is tracking his performances.

“I had an excellent relationship with former head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy,” he told Gazet van Antwerpen via Sport Witness.

“But a lot has changed for me since the arrival of Peter Bosz. I still feel a lot of confidence from the club, you know. But this summer, it was simply important for me to be able to become the first goalkeeper somewhere.

“When it became clear that I would be loaned out for a year, suddenly many clubs were on the line but at Lierse I immediately felt the right click.

“Here, I could start the preparation as a full-fledged competitor of Jarno De Smet, who played every game last season.  And I already knew the coach of Lierse.

“He (Van Nistelrooy) also follows Lierse’s performances closely.  Our contact has remained very good after he left PSV, I still hear from him regularly.  Although he is, of course, also very busy himself now as assistant of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.”

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