Where does Wayne Rooney fit in at Jose Mourinho’s Man Utd?

Jose Mourinho made no secret of his admiration for Wayne Rooney three years ago. With the striker seemingly on the brink of leaving Manchester United the then Chelsea boss launched a charm offensive in an effort to lure him to Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese coach, in typical fashion, insisted he wouldn’t say “one more word” about Rooney before saying much more than just one word about the United striker. “I would love to manage Wayne Rooney, as much for his talent as a player as for his mentality,” he mused mischievously as Chelsea made a number of failed bids for the player.

But with Mourinho and Rooney finally set to work together following the former’s appointment as manager at Old Trafford this summer such admiration is longer so glowing. The duo have posed for pictures, most recently as United flew to China for their pre-season tour, with Mourinho even praising the club captain upon his unveiling, but there is a disconnect between the two figures.

Rooney finds himself at an awkward juncture of his career. At 30 years old the forward is no longer the fast and furious force of nature he was as a teenager. The inherent energy and drive that once made him one of European football’s most exciting prospects has dissipated to an extent, the raging fire that made him so explosive extinguished. Rooney isn’t the same player.

It’s for this reason that Louis Van Gaal, and Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016 this summer, attempted to use Rooney as a central midfielder. They saw his long-range passing as reason to believe he could grow into something of a Paul Scholes figure, ignoring the fact that Rooney’s lack of mobility and dismal first touch leaves him unable to impose himself as a midfielder against a high caliber of opposition.

Mourinho, with complete justification, insists that Rooney won’t be used as a midfielder under his charge. “In football there are many jobs but the one that is more difficult to find is the guy who puts the ball in the net,” he explains. “It is normal that a player at his age changes a bit but there is something that will never change, which is the natural appetite to put the ball in the net.

“Maybe he is not a striker any more. Maybe he is not a number nine any more but, with me, he will never be a number six. He will never be somebody playing 50 metres from the goal. You can tell me his passing is amazing. Yes, his passing is amazing but my passing is also amazing without pressure. There are many players with a great pass but to be there and put the ball in the net is the most difficult thing to find. So, for me, he will be a nine or a 10, a nine and a half maybe, but not a six and not even an eight.”

So where does this leave Rooney? He might still have the captain’s armband wrapped round his bicep, but Rooney is now a misfit at Man Utd, even more so since the appointment of Mourinho. The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as the emergence of Marcus Rashford, means there would appear to be no obvious place for the United captain. Where will he play?

Tactically and stylistically, it’s difficult to envisage how Rooney slots into Mourinho’s plans. What does he offer the new man in charge? If Mourinho is to impose a style of free-flowing, dynamic football, as has been mooted, there is no need for a player who slows down the play of any side he plays for. Even if Mourinho is to turn Man Utd into a distinctly conservative outfit, Rooney brings nothing.

If Rooney wants to remain at Old Trafford he will surely have to accept his role as something of a squad player. Ibrahimovic will most likely lead Mourinho’s line, with Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial offering support from the flanks. Only in a 4-4-2 shape is it possible that Rooney will command a starting spot.

Rooney wears the number 10 on his back, and indeed that role is where he seems most comfortable, even at this stage of his career. But under Mourinho there will be little scope for such a position. They say football players must adapt or die. In Rooney’s case it seems to matter little whether he adapts or not, his days at Man Utd could be numbered.