The training for the pre-season friendlies have started and many players from the current Manchester United squad have joined the newly appointed Portuguese gaffer Jose Mourinho at Carrington. The exertion of the recently concluded European Championship, means that several players are out on the vacation and soon will be joining the squad.

Manchester United, so far have done a pretty good business in terms of transfers as Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have already joined the club, while there is a rumour that the 23-year-old French sensation Paul Pogba is on his way back to the Theatre of Dreams.

With great signings coming into the squad, many players are believed to leaving or are ready to be sold and the primary name that pops out is of Juan Mata. The Spaniard’s future as a Devil was put in the questions soon after the announcement of Jose and now, it will be an interesting sight to see how the duo deals with the situation.

All that being said, Jose Mourinho, in his recent interview has stated that the skipper Wayne Rooney will no longer be playing in the midfield and therefore, we expect Rooney to be a number 10 or a number 9 man for the side. The Englishman had a torrid time last season, but in a recent interview, the attacker said that he will revive his career under Jose Mourinho. So here, we give you three reasons, why Rooney will shine under Mourinho next season:

1. His Vision-

Jose Mourinho, in his press conference revealed that even though Rooney is a great switcher, he doesn’t see him playing at number 6 or even at number 8 spot. Wayne is born to score goals and to set up his teammates and playing in midfield will only affect his goal scoring prowess.

“Maybe he is not a No 9 anymore but he will never, with me, be a No 6. He will never be 50 metres from the goal. 

“For me, he will be a No 9 or a No 10, or a number nine-and-a-half, but with me he will never be a No 6, not even a No 8.

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“In football, there are many jobs on the field. The one that is more difficult to find is the one who puts the ball in the net. 

“Players change their characteristics with age, so it’s normal that they change a little bit.

“But the natural appetite to put the ball in the net never changes.”

The 30-year-old attacker is not known for his playmaking skills rather than scoring goals and that is something Jose Mourinho will work on.

The formation could be very easy; Zlatan will lead the line of attack, while Mkhitaryan and Martial will charge from the flanks. With all this done, Rooney will most probably be working just behind the striker to add the depth to United’s game.

2. A Perfect Mourinho Type-

We all are aware of the fact that Jose Mourinho wants his players to track up and down the field to contribute in every aspect of the game and that was the main reason Mourinho, during his time at Chelsea, sold Mata. It was quite easy to understand that Mata lacked the physical aspect of the league and that was what Mourinho hated. The term “Luxury Player” was due to the fact that Mata failed to defend when the team wanted.

Rooney, on the other hand, has been admired by the Portuguese for a long-long time and he even tried to sign Rooney a couple of years back, but United’s then manager David Moyes denied the offer. Though Rooney has been lacking the goal scoring skills recently, he has been working tirelessly on the field. He is the ever present personnel on the pitch and that makes him a typical Mourinho type player.

3. A Captain Figure-

It is no secret that Rooney is currently the longest serving player in the squad and he is the only player who knows every inch of the club. As stated earlier, he failed to put a game changing impact in the last couple of seasons, but that was mainly due to injuries or being deployed in unnatural positions. The club needs a captain figure and as Carrick is on the verge of his United’s career, Rooney could be the ‘One’ for Mourinho.

Just like Terry performed his duties at Chelsea under the Portuguese, Rooney could replicate the same operations. Being a perfect fit for Mourinho, he could be that one player, who could be called as ‘Mr. Consistent’ at the end of the season.