Has Ruud had his day in the Premier League?
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has amassed 244 career League goals, has this weekend expressed his desire to return to the Premiership. The interesting feature of the Dutchman’s admission is his apparent willingness to be employed as a “reserve striker,” having spent most of his playing days in a starring role.
“I am thinking about a nice club in England after this season,” he stated. “I have decided that if a really big European club does approach me, I will accept a role as reserve striker.” But what do we actually know of van Nistelrooy post-Real Madrid, other than a continuous flirtation with the Dutch national squad and a seemingly end-of-career move to Hamburg? Does he still possess, to any extent, the clinical and consistent finishing which makes him a Manchester United legend despite an acrimonious departure from Old Trafford?
The simple answer to the latter would be yes. Van Nistelrooy is nearing his 35th birthday and can no longer produce the form that saw him net 44 times for United in the 2002/2003 season. But disregarding the physical and mental restraints any player of that age faces, his scoring has remained dependable and effective since his previous tenure in the Premier League.
The three-time Champions League Top Scorer has scored 9 in 18 starts for Hamburg this season and marked his return to the Dutch national team with a substitute appearance in Holland’s 4-0 thumping of Hungary last Friday. Class is permanent. Van Nistelrooy has been knocked back and written-off on more than one occasion during his illustrious career but remains one of the most deadly finishers of his generation, and it is this unrelenting aptitude for scoring goals that maintains his status.
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Blackburn are the first Premier League side to declare an interest with boss, Steve Kean, confirming he could use Michel Salgado’s friendship with the former Madrid forward to lure him to Ewood Park. Rovers are set to lose Roque Santa Cruz when he returns to Manchester City following his loan and the club’s new Indian owners are still searching for a marquee signing to validate their takeover. It’s this attitude that stunted Robinho’s progress at City, impeded the twilight of Freddie Ljungberg’s career at West Ham and appears to be affecting Fernando Torres’s recovery at Chelsea.
Despite the recent history of reputable signings, it is not inconceivable to suggest that van Nistelrooy could provide a club like Blackburn the sort of goal-scoring proficiency that James Beattie showed in his first six months at Stoke. The former Southampton striker scored 7 in sixteen starts and was probably the most significant factor in Stoke’s survival in 2009. Beattie may not have been a ‘big-name’ signing for the Potters but his age and propensity for re-appearing in the Premiership season after season suggests a move for a veteran striker with the reputation of van Nistelrooy by any of the League’s middle 12 clubs would be worthwhile.
In reality, van Nistelrooy hasn’t stopped scoring since his last Premier League goal, the winner against Bolton towards the end of the 2006 season, and will surely continue to do so for the next side to secure his services, whether as the leading man or as a reliable reserve.
Comparable Transfer:
Andy Cole to Fulham – Aged 32 at the time, played one season (2004-2005) and was club’s top scorer with 13.
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