Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to roll out the welcome mat for Ruud van Nistelrooy's return to training with Manchester United on Monday. The Dutch striker's future has been the subject of speculation, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich linked with the 30-year-old. A move had seemed inevitable given Van Nistelrooy's end-of-season bust-up with Ferguson, who hardly played the forward through the latter stages of the campaign then axed him in favour of Giuseppe Rossi for the final game against Charlton.
Ruud is not definitely leaving and I expect to see him at training on Monday," said Ferguson. 'I spoke to [chief executive] David Gill on the phone yesterday and there is no development as far as Real Madrid is concerned.
"They have made an offer, we have rejected it. That is where the situation lies. If they don't come back in and increase their offer, he won't be going and I would be content with that. It would not bother me one bit. He is a striker who can score upwards of 20 goals a season and there are not many of those going around."
Although Ferguson could be playing the diplomatic card, United have made no secret of their desire to play hardball over Van Nistelrooy, citing the £29m Chelsea have paid for Andriy Shevchenko.
"If the situation changes in terms of forward players and Ruud does go, I will have to make a decision about Giuseppe and it may be that I keep him.
"If I have to do that, I am keeping a player with a lot of talent.
"He is a natural goalscorer, has a good football brain and he will improve by playing in our team.
"But, if van Nistelrooy does stay, Giuseppe going out on loan for six months will be a great experience for him. I am sure he will come back a better and a more mature player."