Ander Herrera Says Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Co. Are World's Top Strikers

Manchester United’s Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera has lauded his new side's attacking talent, claiming that in Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie, Old Trafford is the home of the best strikers on the planet.

Herrera signed for the Red Devils from Athletic Bilbao in a big-money deal in the summer, and speaking with Inside United (h/t ESPN), the midfielder said that while he feels he needs to add goals to his game, he’s happy supplying some of the world’s finest strikers:

"

I want to try to score more goals. It's very important for the midfielders. I like assists as well and I think we have maybe the best three strikers in the world here in Rooney, Van Persie and Falcao.

Juan [Mata], Angel [Di Maria], Adnan [Januzaj], Daley [Blind], Fletch [Darren Fletcher] and me are all going to help them try to score, and if I score of course I'll be very happy.

"

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For Herrera, the prospect of feeding players of that calibre is an undeniably tantalising one. The trio of Rooney, Falcao and Van Persie are all seasoned goalscorers, each with their own set of desirable attributes. But there are plenty who would dispute the claim that they’re the best three strikers in the world. 

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Indeed, in terms of orthodox centre-forward players—thus ruling out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—the man atop the Premier League’s goalscoring chart has a pretty good shout. Diego Costa inspired Atletico Madrid to an unexpected title triumph last season, and he’s adapted seamlessly to the abrasive nature of top-flight English football since his summer move to London.

He’s supremely clinical in front of goal too, as noted here by Football365 writer Daniel Storey:

At this stage of the season, the Chelsea man boasts nine goals from seven games, which is more than Rooney, Falcao and Van Persie combined. Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero is another player who warrants a mention in this category, while on the continent, players like Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski are all supremely talented forwards.

Here’s how the United trio fare when compared with their rivals in the Premier League:

	Falcao	Van Persie	Rooney	Costa	Aguero
Games (Sub)	3 (1)	6	6	7	5 (2)
Goals	1	2	3	9	5
Assists	2	0	2	0	0
Shots Per Game	2.8	1.7	3.2	3.1	3.6
Key Passes Per Game	0.8	1.2	0.8	1.6	0.7

In reference to the United trio, there’s an argument that, at some stage of their career, they’ve all been world football’s premier centre-forward.

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Rooney was magnificent for United during the 2009/10 season, a campaign in which he played a variety of roles to great aplomb, Van Persie was sensational in 2012/13 and inspired United to the title, while Falcao was just as good for Atletico during the same year. But none of the three are currently performing to those stratospherically high standards.

Rooney has shown glimpses of his talent in the infancy of the campaign, but having been named as Manchester United and England captain, a period of transition and adaptation to his new-found responsibilities is natural.

Van Persie endured a difficult 2013/14 season after injury sapped any kind of momentum from his campaign. Encouragingly, the Dutchman has put together a run of games in the opening stages of the current season, and if he can stay fit, expect the goals to start flowing sooner rather than later.

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Falcao got off the mark for United in their last Premier League game, and he seems to be finding his feet after a long-term layoff. The Colombian scored this stunning header while away on international duty with Colombia, per the MUFC bible, suggesting a glut of goals could well be on the way:

Herrera has perhaps been a little biased in his praise for his teammates, and it’s completely understandable. If you were to ask a Chelsea, Manchester City or Liverpool player their thoughts on the world’s best centre-forwards, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear Costa, Aguero and Daniel Sturridge respectively near the top of their lists.

At this juncture, none of Rooney, Van Persie or Falcao are doing enough to be considered as the very best centre-forward on the planet. But with each player having to adapt to various different roles under the tutelage of Louis van Gaal, we’ll be able to accrue a much more balanced judgement on the standing of each come the end the season.