Holland 'confirm next boss' as Louis van Gaal to step aside following cancer diagnosis

Holland are reportedly set to name Ronald Koeman as Louis van Gaal's successor following the World Cup.

Van Gaal recently announced he is suffering from an aggressive form of prostate cancer and has already undergone 25 treatments in the hope of beating the illness. But he will lead the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar before standing down.

According to De Telegraaf, Koeman will then officially take charge of the Netherlands from January 1.

Van Gaal announced on Dutch programme Humberto while promoting his new film, LOUIS, that he is ill. He said: "They don't know. They see a blush on my cheeks and think: what a healthy fellow he is. That is of course not the case.

'I think you don't tell people you work with like that because it might influence their choices, and their decisiveness, so I thought they shouldn't know. You don't die from prostate cancer, at least not in ninety per cent of the cases.

"It is usually other underlying diseases that kill you. But I had a pretty aggressive form, got irradiated 25 times. Then you have a lot of management to do in order to go through life. I did have preferential treatment in the hospital.

"I was allowed in through the back door when I went to an appointment and was immediately pushed into another room. I have been treated wonderfully. You will, of course, tell your friends and relatives about it. The fact that nothing has come out yet also says something about my environment. That's great."

Koeman has previously managed Holland, from 2018 to 2020, but he stepped down to take the reins at Barcelona.