Top 5: Premier League’s Greatest Dutchmen

2. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

The second best Dutchmen to have graced the Premier League is Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

The Dutchman arrived in England with a reputation for scoring goals, having scored 75 in 91 games in all competitions for PSV Eindhoven. So with a goalscoring reputation and a lofty £18.5m price tag, would Van Nistelrooy turn out to be a flop? No chance.

Van Nistelrooy was able to replicate this form and he managed to score goals in the Premier League for fun. He was the ultimate poacher in front of goal. In five seasons at Old Trafford, he broke the 20-goal barrier in the league four times.

The only season he didn’t was 2004-2005, where he was plagued with injury problems and thus only reached six strikes.

But this wasn’t enough to tarnish his legacy as one of the all-time great goalscorers in England. Overall, he was able to muster a total of 150 goals in 219 appearances at Manchester United at a rate of 0.685 goals a game.

Although he would later fall out with Alex Ferguson and make a £14m move to Real Madrid in 2006, Van Nistelrooy was an extraordinary goalscorer who tore up the Premier League at United.