Former Manchester United hero Paul Ince has risked the wrath of Jose Mourinho by slamming the manager’s decision to play Wayne Rooney in midfield.
Few who have watched the England captain in the last year would disagree that he’s no longer the player he once was, but Ince still appears to be baffled by Rooney dropping back.
“I think it’s an insult to Rooney playing him in midfield,” he told the Mirror.
“He is the greatest goal-scorer for England and he’s only three goals shy of being the greatest goal-scorer for Manchester United – so why do you want to play him anywhere else?
“He has always been a clever player, but midfield is not about getting the ball and spraying it 40 yards out wide with a Hollywood pass.
It sounds like Ince is insinuating that Rooney just isn’t tough enough to play in central midfield, adding:
“Rooney hasn’t got the mentality of a centre midfield player to go up against the likes of Didi Hamann myself.”
The 30-year-old is a player who continues to divide opinion, with many England fans disappointed by Sam Allardyce’s decision to persevere with him when it appeared to be stifling the Three Lions’ attacking play in the weekend’s narrow win over Slovakia.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford vying for a start in the Manchester derby, it seems crazy to suggest that Rooney should be starting up front, so Mourinho will undoubtedly pay no mind to Ince’s comments.
Even if Rooney will go down as one of the Premier League’s most iconic strikers, he has had to accept that his role has to change as he slows down. Mourinho would be crazy to start him up front, whether it’s an “insult” to play him in midfield or not.
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