Radamel Falcao Will Displace Wayne Rooney at Manchester United

Fantasy football signings are often on the mind of the more obsessive football fan. For many years, Manchester United supporters have been waiting for their next Juan Sebastian Veron transfer, and this summer they got two. 

There is no doubt that when players like Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao become available, you sign them. 

Both are rare talents, and whether you need new defenders or not, adding world-class attackers to your team will always give you the ability to outscore the opposition.

Di Maria's addition was only a surprise in terms of his fee with the Glazers finally entering the big leagues of individual transfer outlays.

But Falcao's capture surprised every fan and pundit. A striker from another stratosphere, he is one the faithful could only dare to dream about seeing on the sacred turf of Old Trafford in a Red Devils shirt.

Falcao's arrival creates more questions than answers about how Louis van Gaal will set up his team, but there is one player who will feel the threat of the Colombian superstar more than most.

Wayne Rooney was given a huge vote of confidence by LvG recently with his appointment as club captain. The Merseysider has now spent a decade at the club, and despite his contract wrangles and managerial disagreements, he still remains popular with many Reds.

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But he is not the wholesale hero he universally once was, even though he could soon become United's all-time record goalscorer.

Rooney may well only be 29 years old next month, but having been a regular Premier League footballer from 16, the excessive wear and tear is now obvious to see in his game.

Falcao has come to Manchester United to play, not sit on the bench. And LvG will implement one of two systems over the next 12 months: 5-3-2 or a variation of 4-3-3.

With United's new recruits in place, here is how the team could line up in the weeks to come:

LineUpBuilder.com

If Van Gaal plays his preferred formation of 4-3-3—the tactic which the manager has shown is his philosophy in the past—the burning question remains: Where can he play Rooney?

Di Maria has the capacity to play central midfield, but with the acquisition of Daley Blind, that looks an unlikely outcome on a regular basis. The Argentinian is a magnificent winger and one of the very best in the position on the planet. LvG will want him playing wide and fast in his new-look team.

Questions have been asked about Juan Mata's recent form, but his statistics since arriving last January tell a different story.

His 17 starts for United have yielded seven goals and four assists, per WhoScored.com, and this includes time spent incarcerated in David Moyes' team, stuck in a prison cell of crushed self-esteem. 

Mata needs a run at No. 10, and despite some thinking Rooney is a great player in the deeper areas, he simply is not. Mata is a purpose-built No. 10 with the mind and vision of a trequartista. Rooney simply likes to drop off to collect the ball. There is no comparison in skill sets between the two players for this role.

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So this leaves Wayne to compete with Robin van Persie in a right-sided attacking role. RvP is far more accustomed to playing the position in the past, for both Arsenal and the Netherlands, than Rooney. The role allows him to cut into the area on his left foot which is still one of the most dangerous in the business. 

Rooney is a centre-forward despite being a jack of all trades in the past, so he will have to battle it out with El Tigre for the striker's berth.

The only element that can save Rooney's immediate place in the team is a huge upturn in his personal form. Everyone knows that when the newly crowned England captain is at his best, he is a force of nature.

But those consistent thunder-and-lightning displays have turned into short, sharp Manchester downpours in the past few seasons, and we rarely see the player he once was, despite his goal record staying healthy.

Light drizzle remains where the storm once was.

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The four of Falcao, RvP, Di Maria and Mata are a perfect blend of world-class skill, movement, experience and savage goal threat—and this ostracises Rooney from the thinking: A player whose first touch has been poor his whole career and now he must compete with a pack of alpha-male attackers who have the wow factor that the manager demands. 

Of course, an injury to any of United's forwards would see Rooney immediately back in the team, but where he was once an automatic pick, his form will now have to dictate his selection.

No United player has covered themselves in glory over the past 12 months, but Van Gaal's moves for Di Maria and Falcao tells us where he thinks freshness needs to be injected.

It is easy to think that Van Persie could be the odd man out here, but the relationship he shares with the new United boss should be sufficient motivation to see him perform at an optimum.

And when in top form, RvP is the best striker in the Premier League. 

Rooney once questioned United's ability and ambition in attracting the world's best players, per the Mail Online, but the club have now answered that question in full.

And it could be Rooney himself who becomes the team's sacrificial lamb as a result, as United move towards a brave new world on the football pitch.