Arsenal legend reopens feud with Ruud van Nistelrooy by making outrageous claim

Martin Keown has suggested his old rival Ruud van Nistelrooy is waiting in the wings and ready to take over from his boss, Erik ten Hag, at Manchester United.

Having come perilously close to the sack last season, Ten Hag was spared in the summer on the back of masterminding an unlikely FA Cup triumph.

The likes of Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino were sounded out, while the likes of Graham Potter and Gareth Southgate were also said to be under consideration.

Ten Hag, however, was granted a vote of confidence and around him United built a new-look coaching team which included former Old Trafford favourite Van Nistelrooy.

Keown and the former United striker shared a fearsome rivalry during their playing days which culminated in the infamous Battle of Old Trafford which saw the combative defender leap on his opponent after missed a crucial last minute penalty.

With the pressure ratcheting up on Ten Hag once again Keown has fanned the flames by suggesting his one-time nemesis may not be giving his all and waiting in the wings for a crack at the top job.

‘I’m looking at Van Nistelrooy,’ said Keown on talkSPORT. ‘Is he giving everything to this manager?

‘This manager looks very lonely on the sideline. Is Van Nistelrooy waiting to take over? Because it looks as if there’s going to be change taking place there.

‘Is everyone adding to the group? I’m not seeing that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag is just sitting there, nothing going on, no conversation.

‘Pep [Guardiola] goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him. Is everybody looking in the mirror at themselves giving their best?

‘It doesn’t look like the players are committed, it doesn’t look like the staff are particularly committed. It’s a lone man in the dugout.

‘You hope that that group of players is there in the dressing room right now and maybe tries to police it because it’s not unusual.

‘It wouldn’t have been [unusual] in our dressing room to have the occasional meeting where we had to try to bash out where things were wrong, where things weren’t going well.’