In one of the most shocking reports to emerge in the last 48 hours, West Ham United have expressed their interest in signing Manchester United’s former star Wayne Rooney. According to Sky Sports, a senior source from the London club has confirmed that the Hammers would surely be one of the clubs to bid for the 31-year-old striker.
However, given West Ham’s current situation, Rooney could be a brilliant signing for them. After numerous big names getting linked with the club last season following their brilliant finish to the league, they ended up with a certain Simone Zaza, who was easily the greatest tragedy this season. This campaign hasn’t been very overwhelming for Slaven Bilic and a top half finish looks to be a good achievement for them as of now.
Wayne Rooney, on the other hand, has been experiencing one of his most frustrating seasons this year. While he has fallen out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho, when Gareth Southgate showed his faith in the forward with a national call-up, an untimely knee injury sidelined him from England’s fixtures against Germany and Lithuania.
West Ham are expecting some ship-ins surely next season, but Rooney would still be the biggest transfer if this happens. After Zaza left West Ham’s attack hanging by a thin rope, Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll saved it just at the right time. And with Lanzini as the only successful summer signing for Bilic, Rooney could be the missing piece of their puzzle.
Antonio and Lanzini have been brilliant on the flanks for West Ham with 18 goals and seven assists between them, while Carroll has found his feet of late. And if Bilic manages to get Rooney in the attacking midfielder’s role, West Ham looks complete to challenge for a top six surely. Rooney has managed five assists this season in 11 appearances, out of which three were from the central attacking midfield and two from the flanks.
A move away from Manchester United seems more or less imminent now with England boss Gareth Southgate stating that Rooney needs more playing time if he wishes to be a part of his 2018 World Cup plans. And Mourinho is highly unlikely to let that happen, as he is busy making plans to bring in highly rated strikers to beef up his attack.
While Rooney’s form could be a huge concern for the club surely given how underwhelming he has been this season, one shouldn’t ignore his injury plagued time on the sidelines. Apart from that, Premier League has been witness to all the outlandish strikes he has executed over the years, which they will never forget.
