"Manchester United needs Wayne Rooney ONLY IF Robin van Persie is injured" - David Moyes

Wayne Rooney has been left in no doubt regarding his position at Manchester United with David Moyes, the manager, issuing a stark message that the striker is considered vital only if "we had an injury to Robin van Persie". 

Ed Woodward, United's executive vice-chairman, also underlined the hardline stance towards Rooney, claiming the club have no fear of a player's deal running down.

With Rooney not for sale and Woodward insisting there are no plans to open contract talks despite the England international entering the last two years of a deal that pays £250,000 a week, Moyes urged Rooney to prove his worth. "Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him," said Moyes, speaking in Bangkok before United flew to Sydney for the next leg of their tour.

"I want to be able to play the two of them, I want to use Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernández as well. I want to give myself as many options as possible."

Rooney has always seen himself as a traditional striker, a position he felt he was not allowed to play as often as he would like during his years under Moyes’ predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson. He has hoped that Moyes would restore him to that role.

With the new United manager understood to be keen to play Japanese international Shinji Kagawa as a ‘number ten’ behind a central striker, Rooney will be left wondering where he will fit in next season.

If Rooney does stay - and the only way he can leave now is if he formally submits a request to leave - then it looks as though his long term future will not be sorted until next summer.

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