Wayne Rooney Is the Solution to Manchester United's Midfield Problems

Regardless of the scoring exploits the Manchester United talisman has enjoyed in a professional career spanning 10 years, Wayne Rooney could well be the solution to a midfield issue in need of addressing at Old Trafford.

Speaking in excerpts from his most recent autobiography—My Decade in the Premier League—the England international reveals that he would be more than willing to take up a role further downfield for the good of the Red Devils’ cause.

Some of the book’s content, published by the Daily Mirror earlier this week, quoted Rooney as saying: 

"

When I get stuck in 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.

In my heart I’d prefer it if I was playing up front, because I can still do a lot of damage, but the ­sacrifices don’t bother me.

"

Rooney is of course no stranger to a playmaker position, having filled in at the role in recent seasons when creative options were limited at his club.

This was especially the case at the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were blighted by a series of injuries and illnesses, leading Paul Scholes to come out of retirement.

Following the club’s late, late turnaround at Southampton last weekend, Ferguson hailed the introduction of Paul Scholes, citing the midfielder as the game-changer (via BBC Sport).

The ginger veteran won’t be around forever, though. Scholes, soon to turn 38, is bound to retire at the end of the current season, along with Ryan Giggs and possibly even Ferguson himself.

So, where do United turn when they’re in a pinch after those figures have left? Who does the club look to in the 80th minute when all would seem lost?

The Class of ’92 was a batch of players that only come around once in a generation, if that. The likes of Scholes, Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Gary Neville are figures held in the highest of regards at the Theatre of Dreams.

Upon those kinds of departures, the natural reaction in today’s economy is to ask, “Who do we buy that will replace that talent?”

In Wayne Rooney, the replacement may have been under the club’s nose all this time.

In a recent article, I wrote that Wayne Rooney’s injury—of which he is now in his third week on the sidelines—was a chance for Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez to make their mark on the first team, along with inevitable starter Robin van Persie.

If that trio were left to their own devices even after Rooney’s return, it’s still quite a threatening attack to go up against.

With Shinji Kagawa now at the club, United have been utilising a form of the 4-2-3-1 formation, with the Japanese international plugging that hole behind the attack. This leaves room for just one out-and-out striker, while other attackers take up positions out wide.

Van Persie showed last season that he’s more than capable of functioning as this lone attacker and, if anything, flourishes in such a capacity.

The Dutchman was looked to as the goal-getter against the Saints, and while it took longer than any United supporter would have liked, he grabbed his first hat trick in the colours of his new club.

In short, the attack looks quite fine without Rooney being thrown into the fray. It would appear to be the supply and that vital chain of ammunition that’s coming up short.

When playing in a midfield role in the past, Rooney has shown just how versatile he can be, breaking up play so that the likes of Hernandez and Welbeck can move up ahead.

Despite his scoring tendencies, the former Everton prodigy actually has all the trademark attributes of a central midfielder. His passing range is vast, his accuracy is pinpoint and it’s no secret that his tenacity and joy in the tackle is almost unrivalled in the Manchester United ranks.

With Darren Fletcher only just making his return from a chronic bowel condition (via BBC Sport) and several other playmakers seemingly failing to meet the level required, it could be Rooney who satisfies Ferguson’s needs in the middle of the park.

In the last four transfer windows, the Red Devils have sold or released four central midfielders in the forms of Park Ji-Sung, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Pogba and Darron Gibson. In that same amount of time, they’ve recruited just Nick Powell and Shinji Kagawa, neither of whom are truly central players.

The crux on this decision would appear to be whether or not a player on wages of around £250,000 a week would be willing to play anywhere other than his natural position of striker. Looking at his autobiography extracts, that may not be too much of an issue for Rooney.

Although losing his attacking presence up front would be a huge loss, a player of Rooney’s quality can fill in at a number of positions. After all, remember this video showing how good he can be as a goalkeeper?

All jokes aside, central midfield may be where the player was meant to end up all along, and all it’s taken is a long and quite successful road to find it out.

One would think that the likes of Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick and Anderson might be able to satiate the creative desires of the club, but United still seem to lack that explosive spark right in the engine room, where it’s arguably needed most.

Just as Frank Lampard is to Chelsea, Steven Gerrard is to Liverpool and, most importantly, Paul Scholes was/is to Manchester United, the Merseysider can be the utility hero that the Red Devils are crying out for.

If other centre midfield players are the sparks for their teams, Wayne Rooney has the potential to be United’s Big Bang.