Manchester United Transfer News: Wayne Rooney Must Submit Transfer Request Soon

There comes a time when a player must put his foot down and make his intentions clear.

Now is such a time for Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.

Rumors of the 27-year-old's inevitable move from Old Trafford spread when he reportedly asked former manager Sir Alex Ferguson for a transfer late last season. And he was reportedly "angry and confused" by comments from new manager David Moyes last weekend, according to the Guardian.

Now, with Chelsea and United bickering back and forth over the player and Arsenal joining the mix for him, it's time for Rooney to once and for all officially submit a transfer request.

As David Hytner, Dominic Fifield and Jamie Jackson of the Guardian noted on Wednesday, "Rooney is likely to have to submit a transfer request to force a move" because Moyes isn't exactly eager to get rid of one of his most talented players.

While Rooney and Moyes appeared to settle some things at Old Trafford after the departure of Ferguson, the two clearly haven't settled everything, evidenced by Rooney's reaction to Moyes' comments over the weekend.

Rooney sounded like an afterthought to the 50-year-old manager when he said, "Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him."

Rooney apparently did not take kindly to that. You can't blame him after he was held out of the last-16 leg of the Champions League last season against Real Madrid.

But you can blame him for the drawn-out saga this summer. If he truly is unhappy at United, he's doing no one any favors by largely keeping it to himself. He knows that it's a possibility that he could be held out of some action if he stays at United after what happened last season. And we all know the star deserves more than that.

So he needs to submit his transfer request and force Moyes' hand or be resigned to taking somewhat of a back seat to van Persie next season. It's as simple as that.

Perhaps Rooney fears that by submitting a transfer request he may lose some fans at United. After a lengthy run with the club, that's understandable. But it's better than keeping United's fans on the edge of their seats, only to eventually leave Old Trafford.

It won't be easy for Rooney to leave United gracefully this summer if he chooses to do so, but he can still salvage some dignity by following his heart and making a decision now. Fans will respect that much more than a drawn-out transfer process.