SHARE

Lierse SK goalkeeper Kjell Peersman has revealed Manchester United assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is still keeping an eye on him after they previously worked together.

Peersman has been speaking to Gazet van Antwerpen and revealed he remains in contact with the Manchester United assistant.

He’s currently spending the season on loan in Belgium from PSV’s U21 set up after spending the last decade rising up the ranks at the Dutch club.

That saw him working under Van Nistelrooy for a time, who handed him nine appearances during his time in charge of PSV and his debut for the club in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie in January 2022.

The 20-year-old was also allowed to train with the first team under Van Nistelrooy but found his situation changed since the arrival of Peter Bosz last summer.

He’s now spending the season out on loan looking to gain vital playing time and experience to aid his development, and perhaps return to PSV ready to compete given he has a deal until 2026, which he signed when he was just 18 years old.

His plan will undoubtedly be to convince Bosz, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t in regular contact with Van Nistelrooy, who is now the number two at Manchester United.

“I had an excellent relationship with former head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy,” he said.

“But a lot has changed for me since the arrival of Peter Bosz. I still feel a lot of confidence from the club, you know. But this summer it was simply important for me to be able to become the first goalkeeper somewhere.

“When it became clear that I would be loaned out for a year, suddenly many clubs were on the line but at Lierse I immediately felt the right click.  Here I could start the preparation as a full-fledged competitor of Jarno De Smet, who played every game last season.  And I already knew the coach of Lierse.

“He (Van Nistelrooy) also follows Lierse’s performances closely.  Our contact has remained very good after he left PSV, I still hear from him regularly.  Although he is of course also very busy himself now as assistant of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.”