Bharath Rammr
Manchester United fans may have sung several songs about Wayne Rooney, but it appears that they are finally ready to move on from the star striker. Rooney has been voted as the number one player that the club should consider selling in the summer, according to a survey by the Manchester Evening News. Since joining the Red Devils as a teenager back in 2004, Rooney has encapsulated United fans with his incredible work rate and quality in front of goal. However, the latter has diminished alarmingly in the last few years. After recently scoring his 250th goal for the club, Rooney has deservedly been crowned as the all-time top goalscorer for Manchester United.
However, Old Trafford is a place where there is little sympathy for mediocrity, and this seems to be a place where Rooney has fallen in recent times. He has been unable to reproduce the same kind of goods as he once used to. Even though he is only 31, fans appeared to be ready to see the back of the player, who has a contract with the club until the summer of 2019.
Rooney came extremely close to leaving the club even as early as February when the Chinese Super League clubs were intent on taking him. Such a move would have seen Rooney eclipse every other player in terms of wages per week, as he was reportedly offered a contract worth around £1 million per week. Even though Rooney is already one of the highest earning players in the world at £250,000 per week, such a massive figure would have helped him become secure for several generations to come.
Rooney decided not to take up this offer and is expected to remain at the club until the summer. However, he is widely expected to move on with United being linked with several strikers over the last few weeks.
More than Rooney, it is clear that United fans would like to see top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic remain at the club. Ibrahimovic has been a breath of fresh air at United, and he has been able to back memories of an incredible Ruud van Nistelrooy, who seemed capable of scoring against every opposition. Ibrahimovic is out of contract in the summer. Even though manager Jose Mourinho has openly admitted that he would like to keep the Swedish international even for the next two years, Ibrahimovic has remained noncommittal about his time at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial is also widely tipped to leave the club – at least on a loan deal – with Sevilla showing an interest in his services. This would leave United with Marcus Rashford as the only star striker left at the club, and even the 19-year-old has only scored three league goals this season.
