By Ewah Chika.

Wayne Rooney might be Manchester United's highest goalscorer and current captain but that will count for nothing when the team list will be announced for the club's first game in the Premier League next season. It is a general knowledge that Rooney has been going through hard times since the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. The striker has struggled to score goals even when played high up the field as United's main attacking threat by both David Moyes and the Louis Van Gaal in the last three years. Such has been Rooney's poor performance that he has been shifted to the position of attacking central midfield.

As if that wasn't enough, Manchester United this summer announced the appointment of Jose Mourinho as their new coach. The problem with the appointment of the former Chelsea coach is the fact that he predominantly plays a 4-2-3-1 formation and favours only one striker in his starting line-up . To make matters worse , Mourinho has signed a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has won more than 10 league titles in France, Italy Spain and Netherlands. Ibrahimovic isn't a player that thrives in rotation nor is Mourinho a manager that constantly tinkers with his them like Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger.

If Rooney had hopes of playing in central attacking midfield like he does for England that was dashed when United announced the signing of Paul Pogba from Juventus for a world record €120 million. While this might represent good news to Jose Mourinho and Manchester United fans it sure makes Rooney's present predicament worse coupled with the fact that the former Everton striker isn't one that cannot play on the wings which raises questions on his game time next season.

"You always feel you have to prove yourself every season, because it's a dream to play for Manchester United. I think you always feel pressure when when you play for Manchester United," Rooney said while in Shanghai with the rest of the squad during pre-season this summer. To further buttress the point that the striker is slowly declining , his last season's stat of eight goals and six assists in 27 league games is not only poor for his standard but also an indication of his travails considering he has scored 178 goals in 12 years (368 league games) which represents an average of 14.8 goals per season .

Rooney might only be 30, but his current form and Jose Mourinho's antecedent to maintain a particular starting line-up all through the season means he might be out of the starting eleven even before the season begins. Rooney might be the captain and the only surviving member of the 'Ferguson Era' apart from Michael Carrick but things are likely to change at the end of next season in the summer of 2017. For now your guess is as good as mine on how Wayne Rooney will fare next season .

Source

http://mailtelegraph..com/2016/07/why-this-season-might-be-wayne-rooneys.html