N’Golo Kanté’s impact at Chelsea has been phenomenal but he has not carried his team in the way the brilliant Swede has carried José Mourinho’s United
If all the friends of Wayne Rooney quoted anonymously in the media are to be believed, the striker has not been making much of a secret of the fact that he is unhappy with his present position in the pecking order at Manchester United. It is not difficult to see why. While losing one’s place in the starting line-up is an occupational hazard for a goalscorer in his 30s, it must be galling to lose it to a player who is four years his senior.
Yet Rooney can have no real complaint. José Mourinho kept him on as captain and retained him in the side long enough for Rooney to break Sir Bobby Charlton’s club scoring record. The fact it took him so long – he began the season on 245 goals and is now still on 250 – tells its own story. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 24 goals in the same time.
Related: Zlatan Ibrahimovic: the older I get, the better I get, like red wine
Related: Manchester United v Southampton: match preview
He is a born winner. His standards are high, he hates to lose, but he is not the hostile figure he sometimes appears
Continue reading...