A long list of Sir Alex Ferguson's former Manchester United players have gone into management, from Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Former United centre-forward Robin van Persie joined that list last year as he left a coaching role at boyhood club Feyenoord to take over at Dutch top-flight side Heerenveen.
Van Persie got off to a mixed start, with a respectable one-goal defeat away to Ajax on the opening day followed shortly after by a 4-0 win over Breda and a club-record 9-1 defeat to AZ.
Robin van Persie set for yet another Feyenoord return after Arne Slot successor sacked
But van Persie, ranked at No.14 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League strikers of all time, has been able to keep getting results sufficient to improve on Heerenveen's 11th-place finish last season, and they now sit ninth after winning three, drawing four and losing three of their past ten games - with one of those victories notably coming over PSV.
That has reportedly been enough to tempt Feyenoord into returning for van Persie's services once again after Arne Slot's successor, Brian Priske, was dismissed earlier this month.
The Athletic write that an agreement between Feyenoord, Heerenveen and van Persie should be settled up on Thursday, with Erik ten Hag's former assistant Rene Hake set to be van Persie's right-hand man.
Priske left Sparta Prague to take over from Slot following the latter's summer move to Liverpool, but Feyenoord had dropped to fourth place under his command.
His final game in charge, unusually, was a 3-0 derby victory over Sparta Rotterdam. The decision was presumably taken before that game: Feyenoord lost to Ajax and then went out of the KNVB Cup to PSV immediately beforehand.
An immediate van Persie-inspired title challenge looks unlikely, with Feyenoord sitting 14 points behind league leaders Ajax with a game in hand.
Van Persie starting his senior playing career at Feyenoord before earning a move to Arsenal as a 20 year old. Initially used on the left wing, remained a Gunner for eight years and won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2011/12 having converted to an out-and-out striker.
Ferguson beckoned that summer, however, and Van Persie became one the most shocking football transfers ever when he moved from Arsenal to Manchester United. Another Golden Boot followed as he helped United to win the title in Ferguson's final season in charge.
Van Persie had two more years at United before leaving for Fenerbahce and then ending his career back where it started, with Feyenoord. The former Dutch international moved into youth coaching after hanging up his boots in 2019, working under Slot from 2021.
Feyenoord won just their second league title since 1999 under Slot in 2022/23, but had to settle for second place and the KNVB Cup last season as PSV claimed the Eredivisie trophy.
