England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate drops Wayne Rooney midfield hint
The 30-year-old has started Manchester United’s last three games on the bench, but is in contention to feature in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Malta
England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate hinted that he will ask captain Wayne Rooney to continue playing in midfield for his country.
Rooney, 30, has started Manchester United’s last three games on the bench amid an ongoing debate about the best place for him to play as his physical powers wane.
Both club manager Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce, Southgate’s short-lived predecessor, announced plans to deploy him as a number 10, although they then used him in more withdrawn midfield roles.
“I don’t want to go against Jose, but I think Wayne can play any number of different positions,” said Southgate, who has kept faith with Rooney as captain.
“The only thing I would say is I go back to one of the things we work on with the team: in and out of possession, tactical discipline, positional discipline.