London – Incoming Manchester United manager David Moyes holds the key to Wayne Rooney’s future after news of the striker’s latest request to leave Old Trafford.
The revelation in Thursday Daily Mail that Rooney had asked Sir Alex Ferguson two weeks ago to sell him this summer did not overshadow confirmation of Moyes’ appointment as Ferguson’s replacement, but it came pretty close.
Certainly, when the departing Everton manager begins work with his new players along the East Lancs Road at the start of July, Rooney’s future will be high up the immediate issues that he has to address.
It is understood Rooney’s sense of dissatisfaction that has fluctuated wildly all season is not with life at United but, specifically, with life under Ferguson.
The 27-year-old has grown frustrated this season with his role in the team – when he has been picked – and indeed with the manner in which Ferguson has made regular references to his fitness.
It was this that prompted Rooney to walk into Ferguson’s office and ask to leave around the time that United were in the process of wrapping up their latest Barclays Premier Leagute title with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
Now that Moyes is set to replace Ferguson, it remains to be seen if the new manager can find a way of convincing Rooney that his future remains at the club. That will represent a challenge and it will be interesting to see how hard Moyes is prepared to try.
The 50-year-old is the man who gave Rooney his debut at Everton as a 16-year-old and subsequently oversaw a £23million move to Old Trafford in 2004. As such, Moyes, as much as anyone, is acutely aware of his talents but also of how challenging he can be to manage.
Moyes has watched Rooney closely since his protege left Goodison Park. In 2008, Moyes took Rooney to court over claims made in the player’s autobiography and subsequently accepted an out-of-court settlement and an apology.
The new United manager has also been in close contact with Ferguson over the years and knows the kinks that have formed in the relationship. Moyes is known to have mixed views.
On Thursday, Rooney’s camp were not commenting on news of their client’s transfer request, other than to make it clear that nothing had been submitted in writing.
Rooney had previously been happy to talk to United about a new contract this summer. Now we learn of a request to move, his second in three years. It appears, perhaps, that Rooney and his employers are waiting to see who blinks first.
Ferguson said in the wake of dropping Rooney for the Champions League home game against Real Madrid that the player would remain at the club into next season. We now know that the Scot was saying this fully aware that he would not even be the club’s manager by then.
Perhaps a formal request to leave by Rooney – were it to come – would crystalise things. Perhaps United would soften their stance, given that such a move would allow them to sell him to suitors like Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea without paying up the remainder of his contract.
Whatever the case, Rooney has made himself rather unpopular with a large section of the United supporters. When he said he wished to leave more than two and a half years ago, United’s fanbase were largely horrified. That was, after all, in the days before Robin van Persie. His rivals for a United place back then included Michael Owen and a novice Javier Hernandez.
This time round, with United league champions again and Van Persie hailed as the new saviour, those who pay to watch Rooney and had such high hopes for him over the years, are beginning to wonder if his presence is worth the continued fuss.
On Thursday there was plenty of criticism for Rooney on fan chat boards and social networking sites. Even his pregnant wife, Coleen, felt compelled to direct his critics towards his Twitter feed – that no longer carries a reference to United in its biography – after growing disenchanted with the unpleasantness heading her way.
On the field, Rooney’s efforts remain unstinting. Despite the fact he has once again suffered for his versatility, his season has still produced 22 goals for club and country and he rarely plays like a player who wishes to be anywhere else but in the present. However, rumours about his lifestyle have swirled round Manchester all year.
The majority of the rumours we can discount but it is tempting to wonder how many of them Moyes has heard. On Sunday, when United face Swansea at Old Trafford, Ferguson will be received by the Stretford End like the phenomenon he is. That is only right.
Rooney, meanwhile, may be in for a slightly different reception. If, indeed, he is selected. – Daily Mail