Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insisted on Thursday he expects Ruud van Nistelrooy to return to Old Trafford for pre-season training.
Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy (29) has been linked with a move away from the English Premiership club after losing his place in the United team towards the end of last season.
The former PSV Eindhoven star was thought to have angered Ferguson after a lacklustre display in an FA Cup defeat at Liverpool and was rarely a first-choice after that match in February.
He claimed he was told to stay away from Roy Keane’s testimonial match against Celtic in May, and German champions Bayern Munich as well as Premiership clubs Tottenham and Newcastle have all been touted as potential buyers.
But Ferguson is adamant Van Nistelrooy, who was also dropped by Holland during this summer’s World Cup, will report back for training later this month.
He told MUTV: ”In most cases the players involved in the World Cup have got a three-week holiday.
”The ones who will be reporting on July 24 after the knock-out stages are Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Gabriel Heinze, Edwin van der Sar and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Park Ji-Sung will be reporting back on July 18.”
Van Nistelrooy, who has 150 goals in all competitions for United since his £19-million move in July 2001, is the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer in European competition. — AFP
