As far as I can see, no one seems to be sure about Rooney's departure. Nevertheless, the rumors have been pretty hot over the last few weeks. Profiles like Bryan Robson and Alan Hansen have actually taken part in the "sell Rooney debate", so it's hardly just a twitter rumor.
Since the rumors are more solid than usual, it makes sense for us to debate exactly how much we need Rooney now. No one is suggesting that Rooney isn't a brilliant player, nor that he hasn't done a lot for us. But is he really as vital as one would think? In my opinion: no. And I like Rooney!
RVP is a better striker and Kagawa is a better AM. Rooney falls somewhere in-between. He is our best "second-striker" by far, but we might also have seen his best days. Rooney's main strengths are: presence, hard work, goal scoring and versatility. In my opinion, there are many better goal scorers out there. As for presence, I think Rooney's just losing more and more burst and energy, so he's hardly as involved in the game as he once was. His hard work, while admirable, is also bound to drop as he gets older. And yes, he is a versatile player, but he's not running past players anymore, nor is his short-passing anything to brag about.
What makes Rooney "unique" is that he's a top goal scorer who also supports the midfield pretty well, especially in the defensive part of the game. No one can take this away from him. But are we really worse off with Kagawa and RVP + a potential new signing? I don't think so.
