Manchester United need a goalscorer right now but none were better than Wayne Rooney.
Not only did Wayne Rooney win everything at Manchester United, but he also left Old Trafford in 2017 as the club’s all-time top goalscorer with 253 goals.
None of United’s current forwards are likely to challenge Rooney for that accolade, which is why Ruben Amorim will be planning to sign a new striker to bolster his frontline this summer.
In recent years, United have struggled on the striker front due to questionable recruitment.
Rasmus Hojlund is 22-years-old and is not ready to be relied upon every week at a top Premier League club, while Joshua Zirkzee is a different profile of forward, not renowned for topping goal charts.
Amorim only has Hojlund available for the rest of the season after losing Zirkzee to a hamstring injury.
Duncan Ferguson made Wayne Rooney sacrifice
The latest episode of Stick to Football podcast features Everton legend Duncan Ferguson as a special guest.
Ferguson told a range of stories from his career and was joined by Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott.
One story included a feeling of regret as Ferguson revealed he had to pull back a bit from Wayne Rooney as a young player at Everton due to being worried that he’d lead him down the wrong track.
“Wayne was only young at the time, you know, coming through at Everton,” Ferguson said on the Stick to Football podcast.
“You could see where he was going to get to, he wasn’t quite there, but he was still a top, top player; you could see what he was going to be.
“I kind of tried to shy away from Wayne. Wayne was younger than me and I think he looked up to me. I was a bit worried because I wasn’t the best role model and he was just a young kid.
“He was the biggest talent in Britain and if he got into trouble, I was going to get the blame for it. So I tended to keep away from him.”
Ferguson had a reputation for having a temper and getting into trouble, but Rooney had a bit of that himself throughout his career, without the Scot being too much of an influence.
Everton legend advised Wayne Rooney on Man Utd transfer
There was a lot of interest in Rooney as a teenager before he left Everton for United in 2004.
Ferguson admits staying away from Rooney as a youngster at Everton, although he did offer advice to the young centre-forward when his time at Goodison Park was coming to an end.
The former Scotland international claims he told Rooney to join Sir Alex Ferguson at United instead of signing for Newcastle.
Ferguson added: “He was heading up to Newcastle United, Wayne. I advised him against that.
“Just before he went to Manchester United. I said: ‘Newcastle’s a wonderful club with great fans, but if you’re going to leave and Sir Alex Ferguson wants you then you’ve got to go there.’”
The rest, as they say, is history because Rooney went on to become one of the greatest players in United’s history.
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