Where Does Wayne Rooney Fit into the Manchester United First Team?

Wayne Rooney is set to play for Manchester United's under-21s against Middlesbrough, according to manager Louis van Gaal.

Van Gaal initially told MUTV (h/t the club's website):

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It is very important that our captain is coming back. He only trained with us for two sessions and then you are not fit to play. That is the big difference. Everyone is thinking Wayne is fit again but it is not like that. He has to build up his capacity to play a match at the level of a Premier League match.

"

The club's website added the Dutchman confirmed at today's press conference that Rooney would indeed feature on Monday night against Boro.

It is interesting that the United captain is going through the fitness-building route that Van Gaal has long established for his stars recovering from a long lay-off. Recently, Marouane Fellaini was spared the necessity of a run out for the U21s, featuring immediately for the first team against Liverpool in the UEFA Europa league upon his return to fitness after a month out.

The captain's privilege that has kept Rooney in United's first XI for the vast majority of Van Gaal's time at Old Trafford apparently does not prevent him needing a run out with the club's youngsters.

But what happens when he is ready for first-team action?

In his absence United have played five league games, winning four and losing one. That included wins over Arsenal and Manchester City. It has been a crucial run of results, one that has sparked the embers of United's dying season. They have done so with a young, sometimes vibrant attack, full of movement and endeavour.

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On the other hand, they crashed dismally out of the Europa League, with an away performance in particular that could have benefited from the intangibles of experience and sheer will to get the job done, which Rooney has demonstrated throughout his United player. The United and England captain has a trophy cabinet full of reasons to believe he can make an important contribution at key moments.

And in that contradiction lies the great conundrum of Rooney's latter-day United career.

Before the season, there was talk of a significant goal haul and him taking his place as a line-leading striker, per the Guardian's Jamie Jackson.

This campaign has, with the exception of a brief burst of form at the turn of the year, pretty much proved that to be an unsustainable model for United. Rooney's 0.4 goals per 90 minutes when played as a striker in the league makes him the division's 13th-most prolific forward among players who have played more than 10 games at centre-forward.

It is hardly an electrifying goal rate.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

He is still offering a creative contribution—of the same sample group, no one has provided more than Rooney's 1.7 key passes per 90 from centre-forward. Only Troy Deeney has equalled it. 

But away from the data, there is the subjective experience of watching United. With the exception of the 1-0 win over Watford at Old Trafford and the 2-0 loss at Anfield, the side have been a little more entertaining in Rooney's absence.

Having Marcus Rashford at centre-forward has made them a different proposition. Against Everton, Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard interchanged positions, and the team's off-the-ball movement was as good as it has been all season.

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Rooney can either come back into the team at centre-forward in place of Rashford—costing one of the team's most exciting talents a spot—or at No. 10 in favour of Lingard. That would, of course, remove the speed and energy Lingard has brought to the role, but if Van Gaal is going to do that, it is still hard to shake the idea Juan Mata is a better fit than Rooney.

Of course, if Van Gaal believed in Mata as a No. 10, he would surely have played him there more often by now. The same could be said of Rooney.

If Van Gaal's time at the club so far is any marker, Rooney will probably be returned to the No. 9 spot. Rashford will either be moved out to the right or dropped. United fans will be hoping that does not lead to a regression on the team's recent performances in the league.

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Rooney has a lot to prove ahead of the Euros in the summer, with Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy both shining for England in his absence. Perhaps that motivation will lead to a productive run between now and the end of the season.

However, the season so far has suggested there are not too many reasons to be excited about his return.

All advanced data per WhoScored.com.