Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that he expects Ruud van Nistelrooy to be in charge of Manchester United for Sunday's Premier League fixture.
On Monday morning, the Red Devils announced that they had opted to part company with Erik ten Hag after just four wins were recorded from his opening 14 games in all competitions during 2024-25.
In the 48 hours that have followed, it has been determined that Ruben Amorim is United's preferred candidate to replace Ten Hag in the long term.
Sporting Lisbon confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the Premier League giants had formally advised that they were prepared to pay the Portuguese's release clause.
As it stands, though, it is unclear whether the formalities will be finalised before the weekend, while Amorim himself has insisted that he is yet to make a final decision on his future.
© Imago
'I think it will be Ruud'
Van Nistelrooy has been handed the reins for Wednesday's EFL Cup fourth round tie against Leicester City, stepping up from his assistant role.
There is obvious uncertainty surrounding who will be in the United dugout for the showdown with the Blues, leaving Maresca to acknowledge that he has had to start watching matches from when Van Nistelrooy was in charge of PSV Eindhoven during the 2022-23 campaign.
He told reporters: "He's a friend of mine. We played together. We spent time together in Malaga. We have still relations. So I think it would be Ruud.
"We have started to watch some PSV games. Unfortunately, we had already watched many Man United games. At the moment, I'm sad for Erik. But at the same time, I'm happy for Ruud.
"As I said, he's a friend of mine. Hopefully, I can see him on Sunday. I'm starting to watch PSV games."
© Imago
What season did Maresca, Van Nistelrooy spend together?
Van Nistelrooy concluded his career at the end of the 2011-12 campaign when he had spent the season at Malaga.
Just four goals came from his 28 La Liga appearances, yet the Spanish outfit impressively finished in fourth position in the standings.
During the same campaign, Maresca made 19 outings under then-manager Manuel Pellegrini before he made his return to Italy with Sampdoria.
Darren Plant
