Chelsea transfer target Wayne Rooney warned Manchester United won't try to talk him into staying
Chelsea transfer target Wayne Rooney warned Manchester United won't try to talk him into staying
Boss Moyes claims the Old Trafford giants shouldn't have to convince people to play for them as striker's future stays in doubt
Hitting the road: Rooney leaving Unite's Carrington HQ on Tuesday
Andy Stenning Daily Mirror
David Moyes has insisted he has no need to sit down and talk with
Wayne Rooney... because no player should ever require persuasion to stay
at Manchester United.
New United manager Moyes claimed he is more concerned about his unsettled striker’s fitness than he is about his future, and suggested the 27-year-old will miss the Community Shield... and the England game against Scotland next week.
Moyes was speaking after Premier League champions United came from behind to draw 1-1
with AIK Stockholm, Sweden - yet another low key pre-season performance
from the side he's inherited from the retired Sir Alex Ferguson.
And
he revealed that the shoulder injury which kept Chelsea target Rooney
out of this trip to Scandinavia - which came on top of a hamstring
problem which ended his involvement in United's Far East tour after one
day - now looks likely to rule him out of the season's traditional
curtain-raiser between the league champions and FA Cup winners Wigan.
The
Old Trafford boss reckons Friday’s testimonial game for Rio Ferdinand
will come too soon for Rooney, and openly wondered if the striker has
enough training under his belt to feature at Wembley on Sunday.
If he misses that match, there is no chance he will play in the revived home international three days later.
Moyes
dismissed all talk of the forward’s future, reacting angrily to being
asked what Rooney thought about Chelsea’s much-touted second approach of
almost £30m.
When asked: “How does he feel about the second Chelsea bid?”, he snapped, “I’ve not asked him.”
And
the United manager followed up with a terse assessment of the striker’s
position, adding: “You don’t need to convince anybody to play for
Manchester United.”
Moyes batted away the many further questions
about the striker’s future, but did reveal Rooney is likely to be spared
a potentially hostile backlash from the Old Trafford faithful on
Friday.
View gallery
Getty
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
AIK V Manchester United
View gallery
The Scot strongly hinted that his fellow Everton old boy will not play any part in the club’s final two pre-season games.
If
that is the case, Rooney will be in no condition to make the big
Premier League kick-off in 10 days' time, when the champions start their
title defence away to Swansea.
“I don’t think he will be fit for Friday. There is still a chance... but I don’t think he will be,” Moyes explained.
“It
is not a serious injury and it won’t keep him out for a long time, but
the problem we’ve got with the Wembley game on Sunday is that he has not
played any games. He’s not had any football so we need to take that
into consideration.”
Moyes indicated that his most pressing
concern is not over Chelsea’s continued pursuit - he has continually
maintained that Rooney has two years left on his contract and is not for
sale - but about the player’s fitness.
“Is his fitness more a
concern than his future? Yes. We’re trying to get Wayne into a condition
where he is ready to play,” he added.
“I’ve got to say, he came back [for pre-season] in good condition, trained well, but he's picked up a couple of injuries.
“Do
I have concerns about playing him? Well, he’s not going to be fit, so I
don’t think he’s going to fit and available. Of course we are still
hoping he will, but I have a feeling he won’t make it.”
While
questions over Rooney’s potential departure will hardly be eased by the
striker’s absence from the side as the campaign draw nears, many more
are also being asked about potential new signings.
Moyes admitted he still has some way to go before he can unveil his first big capture as United boss, but he offered a vow to the Old Trafford faithful by insisting he will make signings before the transfer window closes on September 2.
“We’re moving along, but if you are asking me if anything is close, I can’t give you an answer on that,” he explained.
“There
will be reinforcements - they will come and we will get them. I do
think we will sign some players before the window shuts.”
View gallery
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
No comments:
Post a Comment