Wayne Rooney 'Will Start' Manchester United vs. Leicester, Says Phil Neville

Former Manchester United man Phil Neville believes Wayne Rooney will keep his place in the starting XI for the clash with Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Red Devils skipper’s poor recent form continued on Wednesday, as he toiled up top against League One Northampton Town in the EFL Cup; United eventually won 3-1. Plenty of supporters want to see Rooney relegated to the bench, although Neville, who enjoyed a 10-year spell at the club, still feels the forward has a lot to offer.

“He will start, for me, on Saturday. He is still an important player in this team,” he said, per Sky Sports (h/t Jack Gaughan of MailOnline). “You can see with his performance that he is not playing at the top level, his game isn't flowing and things aren't coming easily to him, but it was important for him to get out there and play another 90 minutes.”

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Rooney led the line for United against Northampton, although had little effect on proceedings as the Premier League side struggled for spells. The 30-year-old missed a fine chance, had a goal chalked off for offside and was erratic in his distribution.

Here’s the glaring opportunity the striker spurned, per Sky Sports Football:

Indeed, it was only when manager Jose Mourinho brought Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic into the contest that United offered more of a threat, with the former scoring one goal and making another.

Neville feels the youngster needs to be in the team at the moment. “Rashford has to start against Leicester,” he said. “This kid is special and he has to play for me. I think Zlatan is helping him a lot. He has come in here and he's getting quicker and stronger.”

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Few would disagree with Neville on the latter point, although football journalist Elko Born believes shoehorning Rooney into the side hinders the way United play:

The Red Devils’ recent issues don’t start and end with the skipper. Mourinho’s side have looked shaky in defence, while the midfield pairing of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini lacks the defensive dynamism to appropriately flourish against canny sides in the Premier League. On the flanks, the team has lacked penetration too, with Anthony Martial short of his best.

Nevertheless, Rooney has slowly become a hindrance to the team. The England man has played as a striker, a split striker, a central midfielder and on the wing, although his impact has been minimal in all the aforementioned roles. For the time being, it’d make sense to withdraw him from the firing line.

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Some still feel his leadership skills and presence add something to the United team that few others bring. But journalist Liam Canning can’t see it:

That’s not to say Rooney has to be indefinitely marginalised by the manager. At the highest level of football, if you’re not playing well, you should be benched, especially when United are in a spell of tetchy form and they possess plenty of options in the same position. It may do Rooney good to watch on from the sidelines for a couple of weeks too.

Ultimately, the buck stops with the manager, though. The United captain doesn’t pick himself week after week and few could question his effort when out on the field. Mourinho has made big decisions in the past, the most notable perhaps when he dropped legendary Real Madrid ‘keeper Iker Casillas during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. Another one is surely imminent.