Manchester United Transfer Rumors: Red Devils Must Keep Wayne Rooney

Manchester United will head into the summer transfer window with a mountain of history behind them, but also the chance to start afresh under new manager David Moyes.

The former Everton boss will no doubt have plenty of grand plans for his time at Old Trafford, but his immediate focus must be on the summer transfer window. And from United's point of view, his first point of difference needs to not be bringing players in, but ensuring that the current squad remains.

And that, it seems starts with striker-turned-midfielder Wayne Rooney.

Earlier in the season, Rooney officially asked then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson for a transfer. Ferguson revealed the news via FoxSports after his final game at Old Trafford, and while the England international has not said anything about his future, the transfer rumors have started to begin.

Reasons behind Rooney's desired departure are not 100 percent known, with early reports suggesting that it may have been about working under David Moyes again.

However, as The Guardian reports this week, the desire is more about not being guaranteed first-team football and playing in his favorite forward position as Ferguson experimented with the formation. And as the reports go on to state, keeping Rooney will be Moyes' main priority this summer as he seeks to prove to Rooney that he is indeed pertinent to the Red Devils' long-term plans.

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David Moyes is minded to keep Wayne Rooney at Manchester United and the new manager is hopeful he can convince the striker that his long-term future remains at the club. Rooney played under Moyes when he started his career at Everton in 2002 and the forward is open to discussing a fresh start at United.

Most importantly, there is a desire on the part of Moyes to keep Rooney at United. Rooney has two years remaining on his deal – the usual point for renewing terms – and, if he decides to stay, his salary of about £300,000 a week means any negotiations regarding a fresh contract could be lengthy.

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Rooney was played as more of an attacking midfielder this season under Ferguson than a striker, with the Englishman forced to make way for Robin van Persie in attack. 

And while the duo achieved great success—both individually and collectively—it appears that Rooney isn't so keen on playing that "secondary" role behind the Dutchman, meaning that Moyes will need to convince Rooney he is needed up front.

How this will impact Van Persie, Shinji Kagawa and any incoming transfer prospects still remains to be seen. It could mean that United shift back towards a 4-4-2 formation with Rooney and Van Persie at the helm, or perhaps even towards a 4-3-3 formation with Rooney deployed out on the left.

Even a 4-1-3-2 or a 4-3-1-2 formation (with Rooney and Van Persie) at the top could work for United if Rooney is hell-bent on not playing as a No. 10 next year.

Either way, there are options and ways that Moyes can convince Rooney, and it seems that if any manager is going to do it, Moyes could be the man.

Reports had suggested that Rooney and his former manager don't get on that well, but it's hard to see there being no connection. Moyes was the man who got Rooney to United and, at one level, made him into the footballer that he is today.

Thus as much as they might not see eye-to-eye at the moment, there must still be some level of professional respect between the men in question.

And that could be all it takes to keep Rooney at United.

Having seen him dominate both up front and in behind Van Persie this year, there's little doubting that Rooney's absence would be a huge blow for the Red Devils.

The work that Rooney gets through in both attack and defense is incredible, and even at the top of the attack, he still constantly continues to intercept passes, pressure defenders and make tackles.

He is, in every sense of the forward, a dominant forward whose presence is unmatched.

Should he leave, United would have a huge hole in the middle of the field and wouldn't necessarily be able to replace it with the purchase of another player.

They would have to change their tactics and formations, and while all of this is possible under a new manager and with world-class players, it would be much simpler for United if they kept their star player. For then they wouldn't have to worry about trying to be ready for the start of the season; they would know that they were ready for whatever challenges lie ahead in 2013.

And with their current squad, they would be more than ready to deal with them.

So while losing Rooney would not be the end of the world, it would be a huge blow for United, and Moyes must make keeping Rooney his No. 1 transfer priority.

For regardless of who United buy and what bargains they might get, if they can't manage to keep Rooney, then the summer transfer window will have been a failure.

There's no doubt about it.