WAYNE ROONEY wants Manchester United to publicly
acknowledge he did not ask for a move during his showdown talks with Sir Alex
Ferguson in April.
Rooney is understood to be ready to tell new boss David
Moyes when they meet for talks today that he wants to remain at Old Trafford,
but is concerned there might be a backlash from fans after Ferguson claimed he
had asked to leave at the end of last season.
Mike Phelan, who was Ferguson’s assistant until he parted
company with the club in May, claims that Rooney could face a negative reaction
from United fans if he decides to stay at United this summer.
"You can put the first transfer request down to
inexperience but the second one is putting yourself right out there," said
Phelan.
Had Ferguson stayed in charge, there is little doubt that
Rooney would have departed because their relationship had reached breaking
point, with the striker frustrated by being left out of some of the big games
and taken off in others, and the manager unhappy with his form and fitness
levels.
If he had remained, Ferguson is likely to have
recommended to the board that the time was right to cash in on Rooney, if his
head and heart were no longer at the club, especially as he is 28 in October
with only two years left on his deal
United’s board, however, will leave a decision to new
boss David Moyes who is understood to want to keep Rooney, at least for his
first season in charge, to see if he can get him back to his very best.
Moyes, who first introduced Rooney to the Premier League
at Everton in 2002 before selling him to United two years later, certainly does
not want to sell one of Europe’s best strikers without first being sure of a
top-quality replacement.
It is understood Rooney has no particular desire to
leave, providing United are prepared to publicly acknowledge that he did not
ask for a move.
Moyes has had one meeting with Rooney soon after taking
over in May and plans to speak to him today with players back for pre-season
training.
Crucially, Moyes also has a meeting planned this week
with Rooney’s representative Paul Stretford to work out some sort of
compromise. Moyes will not want the affair continuing to cast a cloud over
United’s pre-season preparations – they embark on a five-game, four-country
pre-season tour a week today.
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