Ruud van Nistelrooy in line to become latest ex-Man Utd player to step into management

Ruud van Nistelrooy could be the latest former Manchester United player to step into management as the Dutchman is the frontrunner to land the PSV Eindhoven job.

The 45-year-old ex-striker is currently the manager of the club's reserve side Jong PSV, but has been widely tipped to take up the reins for the first team from Roger Schmidt when he leaves at the end of the current campaign. Van Nistelrooy represented PSV as a player prior to joining United in a £19million transfer, where he arguably enjoyed the peak years of his career.

After spells at Real Madrid, Hamburg and Malaga, van Nistelrooy moved into coaching following his retirement, first as an assistant for Netherlands' national team, before joining PSV's youth set-up with their under-17 side and then their under-19s.

It will be a big step up for van Nistelrooy if he lands the senior gig full-time, though, with former PSV boss Fred Rutten likely to serve as his No.2, as reports Dutch publication Eindhovens Dagblad. In doing so, he would become the latest ex-Man Utd star from the Sir Alex Ferguson era to try his hand in the dugout.

Already there are eight managers in full-time roles in the UK who have previously donned United's colours, including van Nistelrooy's former strike partner Wayne Rooney, who is currently boss at Championship relegation battlers Derby County.

Van Nistelrooy's spell playing under Ferguson will likely have stood him in good stead for the daily rigours and challenges of elite football management. Legendary ex-England and Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson also managed him during his early days at PSV, and van Nistelrooy revealed both shared the same quality he hopes to adopt on his own career path.

“As a young player I saw the way