Where Does 'Angry and Confused' Wayne Rooney Stand with Manchester United Now?

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, having spent the best part of a decade at the Old Trafford club, could soon move on after reports emerged of a disagreement between player and club, followed by an opening bid for the forward from rival club Chelsea.

Ben Smith of the BBC reported late on Tuesday evening that Rooney had been left "angered and confused" by comments made by new manager David Moyes. The same source then indicated early on Wednesday that Chelsea had pushed forward their plans to sign Rooney, by making an official offer of £10 million plus a player—either David Luiz or Juan Mata.

United rejected the bid, claiming the forward wasn't for sale, but where does all this leave Rooney now?

Robin van Persie and Rooney

When Manchester United signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal last summer, there were question marks asked of the amount that they paid to bring a 29-year-old striker with one year left on his contract to the club—but none about their ambition.

Van Persie quickly became the main man in terms of striking options and ended the season as the league's top goalscorer and a title winner, scoring 26 league goals from a centre-forward position.

Rooney, meanwhile, drifted from a deeper attacking role to a creative central midfield role early on, then back forward, and he started out on the flank for the odd game too. By the last third of the season, he was only intermittently on the field, mainly from the bench, and didn't even make the squad for the final two games of the season.

The former Everton man managed at total of 12 league goals, less than half his tally of the previous season.

Ferguson, Moyes and the Transfer Request

Former United boss Alex Ferguson told the media, that Wayne Rooney had handed in a transfer request as early as May, at the end of last season. Even then, though, the line from the club was that he wasn't going to leave, as ESPN reports:

"

I don't think Wayne was keen to play, simply because he has asked for a transfer. I think he wants to think it through in his mind - I think that's a good idea. We're not going to let him go. I think maybe he is a bit frustrated. He has been taken off once or twice in the past couple of weeks.

"

Ferguson, of course, left shortly afterward, and his own comments to Sky Sports recently were hardly made with Rooney's mental well-being in mind:

"

Overall, my thought on Wayne is, if for any reasons we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him. Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. It's going to be a time to see how I work with Wayne. Manchester United isn't about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United is about the team - the club. I won't allow Wayne Rooney to become more important than the football club and the football team, because that's the heart of it. Maybe in a year's time we might have to look at something else.

"

Take what you will from that, but it certainly doesn't appear that Rooney is anything approaching indispensable for United this season; perhaps understandably, he is reported as telling senior figures at the club of his disenchantment in the aforementioned Ben Smith article: "Rooney, 27, has expressed his disappointment to senior figures at the club and insisted he would not accept a squad role behind Robin van Persie."

Worst of all for Rooney, he'll have no chance to press his case for inclusion alongside, or instead of, Van Persie during preseason, as he has picked up a hamstring injury to keep him out for a month.

Mata for Rooney?

Chelsea's bid for Rooney is reported to be £10 million in cash, and a player of United's choosing out of defender David Luiz and forward Juan Mata.

Luiz showed his defensive ability and mentality for Brazil during the summer Confederations Cup and has also starred in midfield for his club, but his consistency is questioned at times, and Manchester United themselves are well-stocked in defence, especially if they go on to sign Ezequiel Garay, as reported by Goal.com amongst others.

Mata, though, is surely a different question. One of the best forward players in the league last season, Mata is much more of a natural attacking midfield foil for a first-choice No. 9 striker, whether playing from the centre or from either flank.

His quality on the ball, ability to beat defenders, game mentality and experience of winning—at club and international level with Spain—surely marks him out as a huge player, for any club.

Have United erred in passing up the chance to sell Rooney and automatically replace him—and get money back—by rejecting this deal? Or do they have a bigger play in mind?

Does Moyes really want Rooney as a sub option?

What's Next, or Best, for Rooney Himself?

Who to believe?

Martin Lipton at the Mirror reports that Rooney is viewing the comments made about him as "constructive dismissal" and that he now wants to leave. Alternately, Mark Ogden of The Telegraph is sure that United merely want Rooney to hand in a transfer request, thereby forgoing any loyalty payments due to him from the club.

That, of course, would mean that former manager Ferguson was indeed lying or mistaken when he claimed Rooney had already done so last season, yet the player has had no public apology for that comment.

It certainly doesn't seem that there is much room for manoeuvre on the part of player or club at this point, in terms of stepping back and agreeing to continue into the new season together. Rooney previously requested a transfer and ended up with a new contract at Old Trafford, but it appears impossible that, this time, there could be a similar outcome.

A move to Chelsea would be disappointing to some sections of support but might be best for the player himself with international options fast running down, with PSG, Monaco, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich all signing new attacking players this summer.

An expensive move, and for Rooney perhaps the only big choice left to make in his career—and especially this summer ahead of a World Cup—but United seem to have already made up their mind that he will no longer play a big role in the team.

All that seems left to decide is how much they'll get for him—and, perhaps, who.

Follow @karlmatchett