Rooney Eyes Role Change

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has revealed he would like to try his hand at playing in midfield full time at some point in the future.

Rooney made the claim about his future playing position in the latest extract from his autobiography, which is being serialised in the Daily Mirror.

The 26-year-old has made his name as a striker since coming through the youth ranks at Everton and has gone on to register an impressive ratio of a goal approximately every two games since moving to Manchester United, with 182 goals in 368 games for the Red Devils.

However, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to deploy Rooney in a central midfield role last season after his squad was hit with an injury crisis in that area, and it’s left an impression with the player.

Rooney claims he enjoyed the position as he gets more touches of the ball and he plans to move back into midfield permanently at some point in the future.

I did my bit by ­dropping into a central midfield role when the team got hit by injuries last season.

The manager thinks I can do a job there and, with the likes of Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher all missing games, he asked me to help out.

When I get stuck into the action as a central ­playmaker, I love it.

I get more of the ball, I’m involved loads and, after one game, I even think about playing there permanently, but only later in my career.

Why? Well, in midfield I don’t have to be as sharp as a forward. Once I feel that I haven’t got the sharpness needed to get away from defenders, I’ll probably drop back into midfield for a couple of seasons so I can still ­influence the game.

Rooney’s quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror

Do you think Rooney can cut it as a central midfielder? Get involved in the comments section.

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