Burnley's stance on Ruud van Nistelrooy clarified amid reports he's 'close' to taking job

This morning Dutch outlet De Telegraaf claimed a “multi-year contract” was close to being finalised for the former Manchester United man.

While sources have told the Burnley Express the 47-year-old is part of a wide conversation, no deal is close yet.

Van Nistelrooy has been the favourite with the bookies for the past week now ahead of the likes of Carlos Corberan, Frank Lampard, Scott Parker and the club’s acting head coach Craig Bellamy.

The Dutchman has been out of work since resigning as the manager of PSV Eindhoven in May 2023, citing a lack of support.

He enjoyed a 65 per cent win rate during his 14-month spell, where he also won the Dutch Cup and finished second in the Eredivisie.

Prior to that, van Nistelrooy had worked his way up through the coaching ranks in PSV’s academy system while also working as an assistant to Guus Hiddink with the Dutch national team.

It’s claimed Burnley are keen to identify a big name for their vacancy and van Nistelrooy certainly fits that criteria, having played for both Man Utd and Real Madrid during a stellar 19-year playing career.

He scored almost 100 goals during his 150 appearances for the Red Devils, before scoring a further 46 goals in 68 games for Real. He also played for Hamburg and Malaga, having started his career in the Netherlands with Den Bosch, Heerenveen and PSV.

The Clarets have been on the lookout for a new manager since Vincent Kompany left to take over at Bayern Munich on May 30.