It doesn’t matter who will be the next manager at Manchester United, it’ll never be the same. Right now, all fingers point to David Moyes as being the man, but beneath all the talk of sideline replacements resides a more important issue: Wayne Rooney possibly wanting out of the club after 10 seasons, and the struggle to keep him at Old Trafford.
If you ask Manchester United, the official response will be that Rooney isn’t for sale. Rooney played for Moyes one season, in 2002-2003, before being purchased by Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, where he has spent a very successful decade, winning Premier League titles and Champions League trophies, but something has cracked in his relationship with the Scottish manager over the last two years or so.
The first mission for Moyes, if he does leave Everton, is to keep Rooney on board. There are a lot of conflicting reports and assessments as to what the England international is planning to do. Some even say he is drafting his transfer papers right now; despite all of his problems with Alex Ferguson, he doesn’t want to stay in the new era for the club, hoping that Paris Saint-Germain or anyone else that can afford him will pick up the tab of both the transfer fee and his salary.
Right now, there are no offers. Pure speculation, as United try to adjust to the new reality: Sir Alex standing on the sidelines for two more matches, and that’s it. Wayne Rooney and his issues are pushed aside for the moment, if only for a week or two. Once Moyes, or anyone else (although there doesn’t seem to be anyone else for miles), takes the job, thing will get heated.
Comparisons to the old boss and his way of running things. As much as Moyes has achieved in football with the lack of funds Everton have given him, it’s impossible to compare the scales of expectations he’ll be faced with at Old Trafford, or the amount of star power and ego he’ll have to convince to play willingly for him.
Wayne Rooney is going to be that first test, and how he handles United’s biggest English star might set the tone for his first season, hopefully the first of many, at Old Trafford.