Tottenham to go Dutch…It would be Ruud not to

Van Nistelrooy is definately worth taking a chance on

When Alex Ferguson signalled his intention to sign Ruud Van Nistelrooy, many people wondered. Although a great goal scorer in Holland, Van Nistelrooy was untested in a major European league so to spend £19m did appear to be a risk. A press conference was called but at the end of the day Van Nistelrooy was not unveiled as a United player, instead it was announced the Dutch striker had failed his medical and the deal was on hold. Days later images of Van Nistelrooy screaming in pain were beamed around the world as Van Nistelrooy would rupture cruciate ligaments in his knee during a training session yet Ferguson waited. He had clearly seen something in Van Nistelrooy.

A year later Ferguson got his man as a fit Van Nistelrooy was signed in April 2001 and thus began a new era at Old Trafford. Van Nistelrooy would go on to become the best finisher United had seen since Denis Law, breaking records, scoring in 8 consecutive league games, and picked up accolades in equal numbers as he would win the Sir Matt Busby Trophy twice, PFA player of the year and UEFA club forward of the year amongst others.

After a bust up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Alex Ferguson, Van Nistelrooy would leave United for a bargain price of £13m for Real Madrid in 2006. He would leave with a record of 150 goals in 220 appearances as well as being United’s all time top scorer in Europe with 38 goals.

At Madrid Van Nistelrooy would carry on scoring goals, netting 25 in his first season to win the Pichichi and the Spanish league. Although the following season Real missed out to an awesome Barcelona team, Van Nistelrooy would pick up 20 goals in the league.

Van Nistelrooy’s career has been plagued with injury, from the ruptured cruciate that postponed his move to United, to surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee that kept him out for the entire 2008-09 season (when the injury was discovered in November 2008, Van Nistelrooy already had 10 goals in 12 league appearances!).

And with the arrival of a new class of Galacticos at Real Madrid, Van Nistelrooy feels it’s time to move on. Spurs as well as other top clubs should jump at the chance to sign him.

When fit, Van Nistelrooy is a goal machine, with predatory instincts inside the box second to none. If he finds the ball in the box the likelihood is that a goal will be scored, as he is efficient with his feet and head as well as from the penalty spot. His record speaks for itself but again this is only if he is fit, with Van Nistelrooy just returning from a thigh injury.

Spurs may have been rejected by Klaas Jan Huntelaar but in Van Nistelrooy they would be getting a player that already knows how to operate in the Premier League for a cheaper price and with Roman Pavlyuchenko looking for a move away from White Hart Lane, Van Nistelrooy would be a worthy replacement.