Much of the post-season summer has been spent predicting the future of Wayne Rooney. The 27-year-old has dominated transfer gossip sites since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. The crux, it seems, is that Rooney no longer sees a future for himself at Manchester United and wants a fresh challenge to invigorate him. The Daily Mail believes a deal could be done.
Those with a more cynical mind will point to the fact that Rooney handed in a transfer request while under Ferguson’s management in 2010, so therefore his desire to depart is anything but new news. And they have a point. After creating headlines with that request, Rooney was offered a new bumper deal and saw the likes of Robin van Persie arrive to appease his apparent thirst for big name players.
Last season’s Premier League title followed, but even after years of continued success and the financial riches that come with that, the England striker is searching for the exit door.
His route could become clearer next week with talks scheduled with David Moyes to see what the future holds for both player and club. The smart money is on Moyes and Rooney agreeing to a parting of the ways, which could start a frenzied bidding kerfuffle as club’s scramble for his signature.
The likes of Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea have been linked, but the curious one in the hunt is Arsene Wenger. His phone call with Ferguson that effectively sealed the deal for Van Persie is a fascinating story, mainly because it represented another shift in the power of English football. It would have been unthinkable for Arsenal to sell their best player to their title rivals during the invincibles era. Of course, that has long since gone.
Now, according to many sections of the press, Wenger wants United to repay his generosity and begin dialogue on the transfer of Rooney. With the signing of Gonzalo Higuaín almost complete, the Frenchman reportedly wants Rooney to transform Arsenal back to their trophy-laden years.
In pure ability terms, Rooney is certainly one of the better forwards in European football and would no doubt improve the current Gunners squad.
At around £25million, the price initially looks worthwhile, but the issues arise when all the factors are considered in greater detail. Take, for example, Rooney’s contract. He has two years left on a massive pay packet, which immediately throws up two problems. First, by waiting another year that £25m fee would be slashed to around half, and for the ever prudent Wenger, that would be a sensible price. Second, would Arsenal want to break their wage structure for a player who, at intermittent points in his career, has failed to show the highest levels of professionalism? The logical answer is no.
Next is form. Despite entering what should be the prime years of his career, Rooney – particularly at club level – has looked patchy and forlorn. His performances during the last months of Ferguson’s reign were not his vintage best. Surprisingly for a man who works tirelessly on the pitch, he even looked disengaged from the action at times. Whether or not that is something that would change with a transfer is debatable. Then again, maybe the critics were too harsh in comparing his season to that of Van Persie’s.
Nevertheless, question marks remain despite the best efforts of Alisher Usmanov to convince Wenger otherwise. The Arsenal shareholder said:
He is a great player and [joining Arsenal] would be great for Rooney, and Arsenal too.”
Simplistically, Usmanov has a point. Signing Rooney would be a gargantuan statement of intent by Wenger, and immediately up the ante on United, Manchester City and Chelsea. But the fact remains that despite the years of service he has given Man Utd, people are questioning what really drives Rooney. If he’s willing to leave Old Trafford – and the almost iron clad guarantee of future trophies – what else is he willing to do?
It’s strange to write but signing Rooney could be a risk. For all of Wenger’s hard work and commitment in youth football, Arsenal are still miles behind the Red Devils when it comes to winning silverware. Therefore, it’s hard to envisage Rooney accepting what is a yearly fight for fourth spot. And, if he’s willing to leave the league champions, there’s nothing to suggest Arsenal have the ingredients needed to keep him happy.