The headlines scream "World Exclusive: Wayne Rooney to be sold in January", but how much is this "insider" story by the Daily Mirror sensationalist speculation. Obviously, we know that Rooney is at logger-heads with Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager claimed that Rooney had an ankle injury, leaving him unavailable for key matches. Rooney, for reasons only known to himself, has publicly denied this, leaving Ferguson looking very foolish. Rooney's form this season has been atrocious. He failed to score at the World Cup, a tournament at which he was tipped to star, and has scored only once for United this season. His private life has been splashed across the front pages of the papers with reports of romps with hookers, and sponsorship losses dominating headlines.
However, does this all point to a January exit? Not in my opinion. The idea that United will look for the relatively small fee of £50 million is ludicrous. United's aging squad cannot be bolstered with that sum. They do not have the replacements within the team, with young lads like Welbeck and Hernandez untested and Berbatov still very much hit and miss. Real Madrid and Barcelona have said they will not buy in January. That leaves Manchester City and Chelsea with that kind of money and there is absolutely no chance that Ferguson will sell to his two biggest rivals. Also, Rooney scored 26 goals in 32 Premier League games last season. He may be going through the worst spell of his career but Ferguson knows that he is a proven goalscorer in the Premiership. He could splash out on Fernando LLorente from Bilbao or Benzema of Madrid but neither are proven goalscorers at the highest level with Benzema in particular being considered a failure at Madrid (9 goals in 33 games). I cannot see United parting with Rooney in January whatsoever. In summer, if they were offered 80-90 million and Rooney hasn't regained his form, there is a small possibility he will be allowed to leave to go abroad.
No comments:
Post a Comment