Monk: Rooney Can Thrive In Midfield For Manchester United

Swansea manager Garry Monk feels Wayne Rooney is capable of thriving in midfield and compared the England captain’s skillset to former Manchester United great Paul Scholes.

Rooney has controversially been deployed in midfield for United in recent months as Louis van Gaal attempts to settle on a balanced starting line-up from his star-studded squad.

The 29-year-old was restored to the forward line in Monday's 3-1 FA Cup win at Preston and responded by scoring his first goal for 10 games.

Monk feels Rooney’s range of passing makes him a threat in midfield and he sees similarities in the career progression of Rooney and Scholes.

"I've thought for a number of years Rooney will end up in midfield with his range of passes," Monk said ahead of United's Barclays Premier League visit to the Liberty Stadium.

"I can remember Scholes doing it, starting out as a forward and dropping back into midfield and Rooney is the same.

"But he's such a threat in both areas, he has the quality to make the midfield tick and score goals.”

However despite Monk talking up Rooney’s prowess as a midfielder, he did admit he expects him to line out up front on Saturday.

"I can see why he's played where he has but I probably expect him to play in a more forward role on the weekend,” Monk added.

Monk also admitted it is difficult preparing for a United side who have changed personnel and systems consistently under Van Gaal this season.

"They have such a big squad and array of talent they can change it up to many different combinations, so we won't know until the day," said Monk, who masterminded Swansea's 2-1 win at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season.

"We've prepared for different scenarios and that's all we can do. They have another option to go to [Marouane] Fellaini and it's a big strength of his but he can play a bit as well.

"We have an idea of possible formations and teams but you don't want to over-complicate things by giving too much information.

"We want to concentrate on what we do best as unless we're at our best level it doesn't matter what the other team does because you're not giving yourself a chance."