Recent reports have said that Bayern Munich are ready to place a bid for Netherlands and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy's time at Old Trafford appeared to be over following his end-of-season bust-up with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson when he publicly criticised Van Nistelrooy's attitude after the last game of the season, against Charlton Athletic, hinting the player had been a negative influence on the training ground.

Despite reports of an agreement between Ferguson and van Nistelrooy that the Oranje star is due to stay at Old Trafford, Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has revealed the German champions would be interested in signing Van Nistelrooy.

Italian giants AC Milan and Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs who have already been linked with Van Nistelrooy, with United reported by the Daily Mail to be privately claiming they would want to recoup at least £15million of the £18.5million they paid PSV Eindhoven for five years ago.

Now, Rummenigge has revealed the German giants would be interested in talking to Van Nistelrooy, but he has told his agent Rodger Linse not to discuss potential transfer moves at this time, with the striker worried about it affecting him during his World Cup campaign for the Oranje.

“He (Van Nistelrooy) wanted to come to us in 2001 when his move to Manchester United had not been sealed,” Rummenigge told German newspaper Bild.

“We will do nothing behind the backs of Manchester United - first we must find out if he really is on the market.”

It would seem that Ferguson would have leapt at the opportunity to offload van Nistelrooy, however, there are reports suggesting that Van Nistelrooy and Ferguson have had a lengthy telephone conversation which has resulted in the striker agreeing to stay at United.

However, sources close to the player claimed they were unaware of any conversation between Van Nistelrooy and Ferguson, maintaining that the Oranje star was still waiting on the report from a private assessment for the reasons behind the decision to exclude him from the Manchester United squad.

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