Mourinho deals a blow to Rooney’s hopes

A fervent boxing fan, Wayne Rooney knows what a good one-two looks like, and the Manchester United and England captain must have felt he was on the wrong end of one of those dizzying combination punches on Tuesday as Jose Mourinho spelt out his vision for the club in characteristically emphatic terms.

The body blow was delivered shortly after 11am in Old Trafford’s Europa Suite when Mourinho, holding court in front of a scrum of reporters, made clear that Rooney would not be playing in midfield on his watch, neither as a more defensive No 6 nor an attack-minded No 8, despite acknowledging that “maybe he is not a striker any more, not a No 9 anymore”.

Then about eight hours later came the hook, with Mourinho effusing in a separate interview with MUTV, United’s in-house television station, about the prospect of Marcus Rashford, the teenage sensation, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the veteran superstar, forming a potent partnership in attack.

“I think they can be an amazing complement for each other,” the manager gushed. “34 plus 18 divided by two is the perfect age for a football player.”

Whether or not Mourinho’s remarks form the basis of a knockout blow for Rooney’s United career will, of course, depend on how the best English footballer of his generation reacts to what looked very much like, viewed optimistically, the manager throwing down a challenge to a player whose form has nosedived in the three seasons since the Portuguese tried to bring him to Chelsea. Can Rooney be re-invigorated as a forward? Will Mourinho give him his second wind?

Rooney’s conversion into a central midfielder by Louis van Gaal, Mourinho’s predecessor, won the endorsement of Roy Hodgson — who played him there to decidedly mixed effect for England at the European Championships this summer — and, above all, the player himself.

The move to midfield was, Rooney suggested, a “natural progression”. But such a theory was shot down in flames by Mourinho, who adopted a rather scornful tone when assessing the player’s midfield showings in recent months against the likes of Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

“You can tell me his passing is amazing, yes, his passing is amazing, but my pass is also amazing without pressure,” he said. Ouch.

There was another punch, this was only just above the belt, although watching Rooney fumble and flounder against Iceland during England’s embarrassing Round of 16 defeat will only have reinforced Mourinho’s trenchant views.

Mentally as well as physically, Rooney has a job on his hands now. He has come to view himself as a midfielder. Now he must forget that and focus on trying to be a forward.

Three and a half months shy of his 31st birthday, Rooney’s mobility has reduced, and it remains to be seen if he can bring the intensity Mourinho demands in a key position on the pitch.

“For me, he will be a 9, a 10, a nine-and-a-half,” said Mourinho, although given that he had earlier cast doubt about Rooney’s ability to lead a line these days, it seems safe to assume that the player’s best chance of forcing his way into the starting XI will be as a No 10.

That, in itself, may create its own issues. Ibrahimovic, 34, and Rooney, 30, as No 9 and No 10, respectively? Fine against lesser opposition, but the better teams?

Even with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was announced as United’s third signing of the summer on Wednesday, and Anthony Martial flying in off the flanks, could Rooney offer the speed on the transition that Mourinho wants from his teams?

Maybe he can. Maybe Mourinho will be precisely what Rooney needs at this stage of his career. Either way, the bell is about to ring and Rooney must demonstrate whether he has the stomach for his biggest fight yet or risk being left sprawling on the canvas. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

The writer is the Daily Telegraph’s Northern Football correspondent