Rooney To Partner Pogba?

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville debated Wayne Rooney’s potential partnership with Paul Pogba on Monday Night Football.

Rooney has been the focus of much speculation regarding his future role in Jose Mourinho's Manchester United team.

But after his goalscoring performance in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville believe he could link up particularly well with new signing Paul Pogba.

Mourinho stated upon his appointment as United boss that Rooney would not operate in midfield, but there were signs against the Cherries that he will still come deep for the ball.

"On paper he was a No 10, but he played as a No 8, he played as a No 6 and he played as a No 10 at different times," Carragher explained on Monday Night Football.

"If you look at the end of last season and Wayne Rooney's touch maps, he played in central midfield and if you look at the touches there was (only) one of them in the box. So he's coming deeper, he's getting on the ball and he's getting plenty of touches.

"But if you now look at Wayne Rooney's touch map (against Bournemouth) it's still very similar. He's still getting touches in positions where you'd say he's a No 6 or a No 8.

"If you didn't know where Wayne Rooney was supposedly playing on paper, you'd say that's a central midfield player - a No 8. There are very rarely passes into the box."

"I think there are two reasons he's playing deeper. I think it's because he enjoys it, he enjoys getting lots of touches of the ball, and he's getting older. You naturally come deeper."

Neville agrees it's an inevitability despite his manager's comments. "Jose Mourinho has thrown a spanner in the works by saying he needs to play further forwards," he added.

"He will continue to come deeper. It's where he's comfortable." And Carragher does not believe that's going to change.

"I don't think Wayne Rooney is disobeying orders but I think he's going to find it difficult to change now," he said.

However, Carragher feels that Pogba's arrival could open up exciting opportunities for United's captain to interchange positions with the France international.

"I don't particularly like it in this set-up because you've got two holding midfield players, but what I would say is that when Paul Pogba comes into this team, he's a box-to-box player and at times he will empty midfield," added Carragher.

"I think that could be a fantastic partnership going forward for Manchester United, actually switching positions. At times Pogba can find himself in the No 10 position with Rooney deeper. Pogba can bomb past and Wayne Rooney can fill in for him in central midfield.

"So that could be a bonus for Manchester United considering who is coming into the team."

Neville agrees that the arrival of Pogba need not be a problem for Rooney. "It wouldn't even surprise me if Pogba and Rooney play in front of a holding midfield player," said Neville.

"I think them two can play well together, he's got enough intelligence and he can arrive in the box."

For Neville, the important thing for Rooney now is that he is able to settle into one position for an extended period of time.

"If you think about where he was playing under Louis van Gaal 18 months ago, he was playing as a single striker getting 25 touches a match," added Neville.

"Last season he was getting 100-odd touches on the left of three in midfield. Now he's got Jose Mourinho come in and say you're not going to play there, you're going to play as a No 10.

"I think what he probably needs is stability and a manager to stay with him for two or three years. He now needs to settle in to that latter-phase-of-his-career position."

Credit: Skysports.com