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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dom Smith

Manchester United: Ruben Amorim hints at Ruud van Nistelrooy decision with talks planned on first day

Ruben Amorim will hold talks with Ruud van Nistelrooy on Monday about the Dutchman’s future at Manchester United.

The incoming United manager officially sets to work with the Red Devils on Monday, with Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leicester the last of Van Nistelrooy’s four matches in caretaker charge.

Ex-United striker Van Nistelrooy became an assistant coach at his former club in July, before stepping up to the main post between Erik ten Hag’s sacking last month and Amorim’s transition from Sporting Lisbon manager to taking the reins at Old Trafford this week.

Van Nistelrooy wants to stay at United, but Amorim has already expressed his desire to bring Sporting assistants Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido and Carlos Fernandes with him to Manchester.

Van Nistelrooy represented United 219 times between 2001-06, scoring 150 goals for the club.

Speaking on Sunday after a 4-2 win over Braga in his final match in charge of Sporting, Amorim said of Van Nistelrooy: “About a legend of the club, he did a great job. I have to talk with him tomorrow [Monday].

“Then I will explain everything. I am very clear, and I will tell you like it is. Let's wait until tomorrow,” he added, suggesting he has already made a decision about whether to keep Van Nistelrooy on in a coaching capacity.

After the 3-0 win over the Foxes, Van Nistelrooy was unwilling to discuss his own future.

He said: “I can only describe that moment, how I felt and as a closure of this block of four games, it felt like a closure for that period and the future is open.

“That is the way I felt it. It was a beautiful moment to be able to share that with the supporters and it was special.”

Van Nistelrooy added: “I appreciated the clear communication of the club that it was an interim spell for a short term. It could have been one or two games even, that was the first communication, and they kept me in the loop.

"They said 'OK, it's going to be four, it's going to be announced a new head coach', etc, etc. So, for me, it is important to have that clarity and I appreciated that.

"In the end, the most important thing is this football club, and I'm here to support that in my role.

"As I said, I want to continue doing that in the future and now also the communication was OK [that] 'after the block of four games, there will be communication towards you and your colleagues that are in an uncertain situation'. So, I expect to hear today or tomorrow from them."

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