United pay £19m for Dutch striker

Ruud van Nistelrooy (and thereby apparently succeeding where he had failed in the past three seasons when he tried to sign Gabriel Batistuta, Patrick Kluivert and Marcello Salas), Alex Ferguson was a might unhappy yesterday.

"No, you can't ask me about it," Ferguson barked when questioned about van Nistelrooy, "I've nothing to tell you."

Manchester United may have just broken the British transfer record in purchasing the 23-yearold van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven but, in tabloid parlance, there was a serious outbreak of "Fergie Fury" when van Nistelrooy appeared on Dutch television on Thursday night to confirm that the United chairman, Martin Edwards, had closed the deal that morning.

Ferguson's control freak tendency was partly responsible for his angry response, but the United manager was correct to be annoyed at the timing of the announcement. Van Nistelrooy has not yet passed a medical examination, a prerequisite for all transfers.

Normally this is a formality, but as van Nistelrooy has not played for six weeks since he damaged medial ligaments while attempting a bicycle kick in a friendly, the player's and PSV's revelation was a touch premature.

"Nothing will be decided until next week," Ferguson said, "until the medical has been agreed. Until certain other things have been sorted out I'm not saying anything. I'm surprised they (PSV) are having a press conference, because they are supposed to be keeping their mouths shut.

"We gave certain assurances we wouldn't say anything. They seem to want to talk all the time. We kept our side of the bargain. If they're blabbing, get it from them." Oh dear, not a good start.

Van Nistelrooy is due in Manchester possibly as early as Monday lunchtime for the Chelsea game, and looks certain to be given his first lesson in all things United, one of which is: you don't speak unless Ferguson says so, especially not to that mob, football journalists. Ferguson could always fine him. Even before he signs.

Oblivious to the developing storm in Manchester, van Nistelrooy attended a press conference to say: "I'm glad I'm in the position to become a Manchester United player. I hope I'm worth it. I want to show my qualities at Manchester." Of his injury he said: "The knee has recovered but I'm not match fit at the moment."

Assuming there is no hiccup, the fee means that United will have not just comfortably outstripped their record outlay, £12.6 million for Dwight Yorke, but will have paid the Eindhoven club close to £30 million for two players in two years: Jaap Stam cost £10.5 million when he joined the summer before last and van Nistelrooy revealed he had spoken to Stam about a move to Old Trafford.

"Jaap told me a lot of positive things about United," van Nistelrooy said. "They are all big names and that makes you better."

The two share more than an Eindhoven connection. Like Stam, who spent several years playing lower division football with clubs such as Cambuur, Zwolle and Willem II Tilburg, van Nistelrooy was four years at Den Bosch before he joined Heerenveen. He moved to PSV the same summer Stam left, for £4.75 million, a record between Dutch clubs. Van Nistelrooy had just turned 22 - his 24th birthday is the day before the European Championships final in Rotterdam - and PSV had just sold Philip Cocu, Boudewijn Zenden and Wim Jonk as well as Stam. Nevertheless, he began to score goals with alarming frequency and ended the season Holland's top scorer.

He also won the first of his 10 Holland caps then, in November 1998 against Germany, although he is currently behind Kluivert and Dennis Bergkamp in Frank Rijkaard's pecking order.

Van Nistelrooy's first club was called Nooit Gedacht, which translates as Never Thought Of, but now he was being thought of by every manager in Europe with around £15-£20 million to spend. Ferguson was just one of them.

"I spoke to Alex at the end of last year about Ruud," Bobby Robson, van Nistelrooy's coach at PSV for a season, said yesterday. "I had been over to Holland and I actually sat beside Alex's brother (Martin), who acts a bit like a chief scout. We had a chat at the airport and I told him to tell Alex: `Just buy him. He is that good and he won't let you down.' "One of the pleasures of my life was to work with Ruud," the Newcastle manager said. "I would really have loved to have brought him here.

"I went to PSV a couple of times this season and I talked to him. He asked my advice and I recommended him to choose the Premiership. He has the pace, the power and the temperament. He asked me which club to choose but I said I didn't know because I have respect for all the managers. He speaks very good English and loves our game. I would have wanted him if I could have afforded him."

Robson then said, boldly: "He will be as good as Marco van Basten. He will be a world-class, top-Dutch striker. He is a strong boy as well. He's got a wonderful attitude, this is a great value-for-money signing. Ruud van Nistelrooy is that good."

While they were reluctant to acknowledge that in Manchester yesterday, it seems that United's reaction to their exit form the European Cup on Wednesday has been blistering.