With Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa and, most obviously, Golden Boot winner Robin van Persie in his squad, Moyes clearly has attacking alternatives to Rooney.
Yet there is no doubt though that, having so far failed to secure the services of Cesc Fabregas, losing Rooney would increase the pressure on new manager David Moyes and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who has endured a difficult first summer since replacing David Gill as the man responsible for completing transfer deals.
Yet it does seem the England forward is happy to call time on his stay at Old Trafford.
His relationship with United may not have deteriorated to the point where he is forced to train with the reserves, as has been the case with Suarez. However, the 27-year-old has clearly decided he has no future at Old Trafford.
Rooney's major concern appears to centre around Sir Alex Ferguson's continued presence in the United hierarchy and the influence he will be able to exert given he selected Moyes as his successor.
The relationship between Rooney and Ferguson broke down completely, to the extent the Scot went public with a claim his forward wanted to leave. As it transpired, Rooney merely aired the possibility as part of what he thought was a private chat.
What Rooney views as conduct beyond acceptable boundaries from Ferguson has not been checked publicly and is highly unlikely to be so given the status of the former United manager.
However, Robson insists the situation is not irretrievable.
"I don't know what's in the head of Wayne and his agent - why he wants to leave," he said. "I know he had loggerheads with Sir Alex but David Moyes is the manager now.
"To me it is so important for him to concentrate on his football this season.
"I don't know what he sees - the grass is greener on the other side - the fans love him, the players love him so I don't see what the unsettlement is. Everyone would like to see Wayne Rooney settle down and be part of the team to try to retain the title."
(Edited by Ben Bloom)
No comments:
Post a Comment