Wayne Rooney Wouldn't Be Massive Loss for Manchester United This Summer

If Wayne Rooney leaves Manchester United, the sky would not in fact fall on Old Trafford.

Rumors regarding the striker's departure seem to be coming fast on a daily basis. It's definitely putting the "silly" in the silly season. The most recent news is that Arsene Wenger has declared "interest" in Rooney, reported by Ben Curtis of the Daily Mirror.

You know, Wenger is interested in the same way that everyone would be interested in winning the lottery and retiring to his or her own island. ESPN's Adrian Healey came up with another fun parallel:

In the event Rooney actually does leave United this summer, will he leave that big of a hole?

Supporters have thought that he could become the kind of creative playmaker in midfield the club has lacked over the last couple of years. Rooney is much better when he drops deeper and is running at the defense.

Unfortunately for United, it doesn't appear the move will be happening anytime soon.

Rooney told Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror regarding a move to midfield, “No. In the years to come, that might be somewhere I could play, but, right now, I’m definitely a centre-forward. I’m after more goals.”

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that the striker probably wasn't happy with being subbed off in a few matches. If he stays at striker, that would continue to happen at Old Trafford, thus creating problems in the dressing room.

Is he a talented striker? Of course. However, the argument could be made that he's a bit overrated.

Rooney has put together some great seasons, but there have been plenty of times where he was almost nonexistent on the pitch.

He had very good seasons in 2009/10, when he scored 26 goals, and in 2011/12, when he had 27 goals. Of course, that 09/10 season was followed up with a forgettable performance at the World Cup, and then two years later, he looked off his game at Euro 2012.

That's kind of the story with Rooney's career. He puts together great performances where he looks like one of the best strikers in the world. Then he follows it up with a couple of marginal showings.

Even the greatest players have their off days, but it happens a little too often with Rooney.

You can't help but wonder if he's really become the player you would have expected after Euro 2004 and his early performances with Everton and United. Going back to that period, Rooney looked like one of the most promising players in the world. Move to the present and he's very talented, but you'd have to say there are better strikers across Europe.

There's no doubting the Red Devils would be worse off, but it's not as if Rooney is so transcendent that he can't possibly be replaced. United have survived after the individual departures of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and the general moving on from the generation of players that helped win the 1999 Champions League title.

No player will ever be bigger than Manchester United. There have been countless legends to walk through the door, and yet, the Red Devils remain the biggest club in England, and one of the biggest in the world.

As things stand right now, Moyes already has the pieces he would need to cover up for the loss of Rooney.

The club already has Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez waiting in the wings. They're not the quality of Rooney, but they could both contribute more than enough to the United attack.

Plus, losing Rooney would only let Chicharito obtain more first-team opportunities. Then it would only be a matter of time before Chicharito becomes one of the best poachers in the Premier League, if he's not there already.

And then there's Robin van Persie.

Few could have expected RVP to have the kind of impact he had this past season. With a team that already had so many strikers, his move looked a bit odd. Then he went out and scored 26 goals and notched 15 assists in the Premier League. Even at £24 million, Van Persie was a massive bargain.

In one season, he's arguably supplanted Rooney as the talisman for Manchester United. The Dutchman is much more consistent and has a demeanor befitting a leader on the pitch.

After helping the Red Devils win five Premier League titles and a Champions League, it would be unfortunate to see Rooney leave United. However, it wouldn't be the end of the world for United.