Wayne Rooney Should Reconsider Hitting Transfer Market

If Wayne Rooney seeks to find the best club for him to be with next season, he doesn't need to go far—he's already there. A move from Manchester United may not be all it's cracked up to be for the 27-year-old forward. 

According to Wayne Veysey of Goal.com, Rooney has held meetings with two undisclosed clubs and is ready to part ways with United this summer. According to the report, Rooney's relationship with new manager David Moyes, who successfully sued Rooney for libel in 2007, is a primary reason that he is set on leaving the club. 

While Manchester United should undoubtedly ship the striker off to wherever he wants to go if he's dead set on leaving, Rooney should think twice before deciding to ship off. 

For one, there's the issue of winning. Few clubs can offer Rooney the chance to win at the highest level quite like United can. The league champions were atop the table by 11 points over second-place rival Manchester City—a place that they are sure to compete for again, even without Rooney in the lineup. 

Rooney has been linked to clubs such as French club Paris Saint-Germain via the Daily Express, Arsenal via the Daily Mail and Chelsea via The Independent. While those clubs would certainly be willing to break the bank to acquire a player of Rooney's caliber, none of them can offer the recent winning track record of United. 

After all, you have to go back to the 2005 season to find the last time the English powerhouse didn't finish in the top two of the EPL table. 

An argument could be made that Rooney would be leaving to once again be the featured scorer for another club. The 2013 season represented a serious shift in Rooney's role with the arrival of Robin van Persie, who scored 26 goals in his debut season with United. 

However, there's plenty of room for Rooney to put up great numbers playing alongside Van Persie. Despite a reduced number in starts, he still managed to be second on the team in goals last season with 12, and he notched 10 assists, which led the team. 

While 12 goals is a far cry from the 27 he tallied in the 2012 season, the dip in scoring wasn't completely due to a lack of opportunity. According to WhoScored.com, Rooney's 3.2 shots per game was second on the team behind Van Persie's 3.7. 

Rooney's complaints about his current club are legitimate. His 26 appearances from last season is a career-low, and the transition of playing second fiddle to Van Persie was not always a smooth one. 

But Manchester United still offers Rooney an opportunity to be an integral part of a championship-caliber team every year. That should be enough to make him think twice about leaving for supposedly greener pastures.