Ruud van Nistelrooy: “I’m not worried about Anwar El Ghazi.”

PSV Eindhoven head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy has come to the defence of Anwar El Ghazi and is confident the winger can perform in the area which Cody Gakpo has left, he told Voetbal International.

There has been growing speculation as to where PSV will find a suitable replacement for Gakpo, who completed his transfer to Liverpool earlier this month, with El Ghazi the man to replace the club’s top scorer – for the short-term, at least.

El Ghazi, 27, joined PSV from Aston Villa in the summer with the thinking to supply depth on the wings behind Gakpo and Noni Madueke – with the latter joining Chelsea just a few days ago – but has only managed three goals and zero assists in the 11 matches he has featured in so far but Van Nistelrooy is confident the Dutch international will perform.

He said: “I’m not worried about that. Anwar will be in a position to score. The returns will come if he stays focused. If he stays that way, the balls will go in again for him. That also applies to Luuk de Jong. He also missed opportunities against Fortuna Sittard and a penalty kick against Vitesse. As an attacker you have to deal with those kinds of moments.”

GBeNeFN | Tom Phillips

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