Man United news & stats: Erik ten Hag reveals plan to improve goalscoring output of Marcus Rashford and Co | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag has admitted he’s hoping Ruud van Nistelrooy’s arrival can help improve the standard of finishing at Manchester United, including from Marcus Rashford.

Van Nistelrooy is a Man Utd legend, scoring 150 goals in 219 games during a five-year stay at the club between 2001 and 2006, winning Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup titles along the way. And this summer, the former striker returned to Old Trafford as Ten Hag’s assistant coach, signing a two-year deal.

It’s Van Nistelrooy’s first role in the dugout since resigning as PSV Eindhoven manager at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, despite winning the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield with the club.

One of the first jobs on the task list for the former Netherlands international will be to improve United’s efficiency in front of goal. The Red Devils were one of the most wasteful attacking units in the Premier League last season with a shot conversion rate of just 10.36%.

Only Bournemouth (9.96%), Brighton (9.8%), Sheffield United (9.59%), Burnley (9.47%) and Everton (7.89%) boasted worse records, while their 57 goals scored was distinctly average, placing them level with Crystal Palace and between the likes of West Ham (60) and Brentford (56). This was undoubtedly one of the key reasons behind their slump to eighth in the table, with only their shock FA Cup final win over Man City saving their season and, perhaps, Ten Hag’s job.

Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes were the only Man Utd players to reach double figures for Premier League goals last season with 10 each, with the latter netting four of his from the penalty spot.

Among United’s most wasteful players were Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony, who posted shot accuracy rates of just 33.87%, 28% and 37.21%, respectively.

The signing of Joshua Zirkzee should help, not least by pushing more from Hojlund. However, the Dutchman is still only 23 years old and coming off a season in which he scored 11 goals in 34 Serie A matches for Bologna. Miracles cannot be expected of the former Bayern Munich man in his first Premier League campaign, with United’s existing stars needing to step up.

Naturally, Ten Hag is looking to Van Nistelrooy — who is also seventh on the list of all-time goalscorers for the Netherlands national team with 35 goals in 70 caps — to increase the productivity of Rashford and Co.

“That is a reason why he [Van Nistelrooy] is here, but not only for the strikers,” Ten Hag told reporters. “He is much more than this. But Rashford can only prove himself and he is capable of it. He has scored so many goals already at a relatively young age. So, he’s capable of it. So I’m confident and 100% believe he can do the same as two years ago.”