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It's worth getting excited by the links between Burnley and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Burnley are continuing their search for a new permanent first-team manager ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy is an emerging name in the race.

Following their relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship at the end of last season, Vincent Kompany has already moved on from the club. That's despite taking the Clarets back down in what was their first season back in the top flight.

In a move that shocked the football world, Bayern Munich turned to Kompany. That left the Lancashire outfit in a difficult position, as they had planned to keep Kompany to lead them in the upcoming campaign, where promotion will be the aim at the first time of asking.

A number of names have already been linked with the managerial vacancy, including Thierry Henry. The club's owner, Alan Pace, is said to want a standout name in the dugout at Turf Moor, according to journalist Alan Nixon. Henry's name, as well as former PSV boss, and Manchester United striker, van Nistelrooy, has come into their thinking recently.

The same has been reported by journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who suggests that the Dutchman is still in contention for the vacancy, as well as West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan.

According to the most recent reports coming from Dutch media, a deal appears to be very close, in a move that should excite Burnley fans.

Burnley could upgrade on Kompany with van Nistelrooy

The ex-Real Madrid man has been out of work after a stint in charge of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, but fits the criteria that the Clarets are said to be wanting in a new boss as it stands. Like Kompany, he is a big name in the footballing world, but, crucially, most of the choices that the football club has made over the past couple of years have been very much forward-thinking, with younger managers in mind, and he falls within that category.

The 47-year-old enjoyed a strong season in his one season in charge of the Eredivisie giants in 22/23, as his side finished second to Champions Feyenoord, and he finished the season with a 68% win ratio in all competitions. He was appointed as the replacement for the outgoing Roger Schmidt as PSV's head coach after impressing through various youth teams with PSV.

Van Nistelrooy initially signed a three-year contract beginning with the 2022/23 season, but after winning the 2023 Johan Cruyff Shield and 2022/23 KNVB Cup, he resigned with one match remaining in the season, citing a lack of support. He said: "A head coach needs to be aligned with the board and the directors, and to know about plans for the future."

However, many aspects of him as a coach are there to be excited about. The 47-year-old has a fantastic record of developing young players through the youth ranks at PSV, having essentially worked his way up to the first-team role himself in similar fashion. That includes the likes of Noni Madueke, and Cody Gakpo, but also loanees such as Xaxi Simons as well.

As a coach, his footballing philosophy is also what Burnley fans will want to hear. Speaking via Coaches' Voice on his managerial career so far, van Nistelrooy said: "It wasn’t a question of what football I wanted to play, though. It was more about, with the players we have, what is the best strategy to get the maximum out of the season?

"Is it the high press, is it a mid-block, is it counter-attacking or sustained attacks in the final third? And, of course, it varies per game. Many times in our own league, we would be the better team, but sometimes in the big games, and in Europe, we would not be. We had to adjust."

Much like Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick and West Brom's Corberan, the ability to be adaptable and a problem-solver game-to-game is perhaps a coach's biggest strength. It's what let Kompany down, with the Belgian wedded to his style of play at all times, even when his team struggled to enact the game plan in possession against the Premier League's elite.

It means van Nistelrooy could be a greater success in the long-run, as someone who can beat his opponent playing attacking possession-based football, or sat deeper to transition and counter-attack with greater frequency, much like Carrick and Corberan switch between.

Burnley's pressing was also disjointed last year, and van Nistelrooy takes the more modern method of a ball-orientated press, as each player will press the play when the ball comes into the area of the pitch while the rest of the team retains their basic defensive shape. The team's high press usually works in a 4-4-2.

In possession, he broadly uses a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1, and will look to dominate his opponent, which will be needed at Championship level, but could be tweaked in the Premier League as mentioned above. That's unlike how Kompany approached the league, hoping his style of play would translate well, but it did not without technical superiority.

In this league, van Nistelrooy would still maintain that quality difference that Kompany leaned on, particularly at the base of midfield, where Josh Cullen could thrive and dominate midfield battles. Truthfully, many of the side would take to his style of play in the second tier quickly, with a good fit for a squad that is likely to be one of the best in the Championship.

On paper, he looks like he could be a fantastic fit for Burnley and ticks plenty of boxes for the Clarets as somewhat of a progressive continuity appointment at the bare minimum, and could even be a potential upgrade in terms of tactical variety and out of possession approach in the long-run, despite the risks of van Nistelrooy being very early on within his managerial career.

His coaching credentials should excite the Turf Moor faithful, even though there were some question marks from PSV fans surrounding his time with them in 2023. However, it's important to note that van Nistelrooy is meticulous but eager to learn and improve, as exemplified by looking to learn from two of the best-regarded coaches in Europe – serving as Louis van Gaal's assistant during his spell in charge of the Netherlands and watching Real Madrid training sessions this season during Carlo Ancelotti's tenure following leaving PSV.

He seems to tick nearly every box – a playing style that should please supporters and be effective with the Clarets' squad, a proven record of developing young players, success elsewhere as a manager, and experience under some great coaches, with the eagerness to continue his own development as a coach all the time.

The main risk factor is his lack of experience, but it does not appear that he needs much convincing of coming to Turf Moor, perhaps knowing how Kompany thrived and where that has eventually taken him. It will take some doing, but in the long-term, van Nistelrooy could be a more rounded coach than the Belgian was in the dugout.