'I don't see him hanging about' – Scholes & Owen discuss Rooney's Man Utd future
BT Sport’s football experts have given their take on whether the Red Devils captain should look for pastures new
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes and former England icon Michael Owen are in agreement that Wayne Rooney is likely to leave Old Trafford.
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The Red Devils’ all-time top scorer has been a bit-part player this season and has been linked with a big-money move to China as a result.
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And with playing time limited, former team-mate Scholes doesn’t see the England skipper hanging around for much longer.
“I don’t know if he should go but I think he’ll want to go,” BT Sport’s football expert Scholes said.
“Wayne is a player who wants to play football every week, whether it’s a big game or a small game – he wants to play. This’ll be hurting him at the minute, not being selected for the bigger games.
“He might have played in this game [vs Saint-Etienne] if he was fit – I think he would have. He’ll get frustrated and I don’t see him hanging about if he’s not playing in the big games.”
Having played alongside the 31-year-old for both club and country, Owen agrees that Rooney will not be content with making cameo appearances – even in the twlight of his career.
“Jose will know that he’s frustrated and wants to play all the time, I’m pretty sure he’ll be having a word in the manager’s ear,” Owen said.
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“If Ibrahimovic is scoring goals like he is – and there’s other players that are playing really well – you can understand why he’s not getting more of a look in at the moment.
“But, even though he’s 31, he’s still got that childlike enthusiasm for the game. China has come in and changed the whole market – where else can he go?
“He is getting on and he will be looking at his future and his family’s future.
“China changes everything. If he’s going to go, I think that’s where he’ll go.”
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