Wayne Rooney will continue to play up front for England, despite playing in a deeper role for his club…
Roy Hodgson has backed Wayne Rooney to rediscover his goalscoring form in an England shirt, despite his ongoing goal drought for club side Manchester United, which dates back to the end of last year, reports the Daily Mirror.
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Hodgson said: “Well, he’s a goal-scorer, isn’t he? So one always likes to see one’s goal-scorers in positions where they can get into the box and in and around the box. If you’ve got several other goal-scorers and you can afford to use one of your goal scorers a bit further back, that’s fine.
“But he’s our top goal-scorer in the qualifiers, he’s just a couple of goals away now from being England’s leading goalscorer, so I hope he will continue to score goals for us.”
United boss Louis van Gaal insists that Rooney’s future lies in a deeper role, as the 29-year-old adapts to life under the Dutchman’s leadership. However, Hodgson insists that Rooney will continue to start up front when he plays for his country.
He added: “Wayne’s the sort of player, he can play anywhere. You couldn’t surprise me if, one day, he played right-back – and did it very well. He’s a very, very good footballer.
“We’ll only use him in the position that suits our team and I don’t know that will be centre midfield, where he plays for Manchester United, because they’ve got other players and that’s where they think he does the best job for him and I fully respect that.
“At the moment I don’t necessarily think that will be his best position for us and I don’t have any immediate plans to play him there, but who knows? I will never say never.”
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