United striker says Rooney wants to stay

Van Persie believes "deep down" Wayne wants to stay

Following Manchester United’s 2-0 victory today over Wigan Athletic in the Community Shield, goal-scorer Robin van Persie spoke out to reveal that he believes deep down Wayne Rooney does not want to leave United. The Dutch striker delivered a brace over Wigan today as he led the club to victory and earned the first piece of silverware for new manager David Moyes.

When prompted about Rooney after the match, the former Arsenal man addressed rumors of Rooney’s potential transfer to Premier League rival Chelsea, speaking highly of Rooney and discussing the striker’s tenacity along with his own desire to keep him at United.

“Everyone wants Wayne to stay and deep down I think he feels the same,” van Persie said, according to Metro.

“One of the reasons I joined Manchester United was to play with Wayne. I hope he stays. Not only is he a great goalscorer, he does so much work across the pitch.

“He hates to lose – that’s why you see him one minute pressing for goal, the next minute defending ferociously. He is an asset to any team. He will come good again.”

Rooney missed today’s match with a shoulder injury that already prevented him from playing in United’s recent preseason matches. Prior to the shoulder knock, Rooney suffered a groin injury that kept him from playing in the Red Devils’ tour of Asia, meaning the striker has yet to make an appearance on the pitch for United this year.

However, manager David Moyes said yesterday that he believes Rooney will be fit enough to log some time for England during their mid-week match against Scotland.

“Wayne has had a shoulder injury. He has been sore with it, which has meant he has not been able to have any contact, so he hasn’t trained with us [the first team],” Moyes said, according to Metro.

“He has trained a little bit with the reserves as a non-contact player, a floating player, so at least he got a little bit of football work.

“He trained with the first team today [Saturday] and he did a bit of extra work, so he is probably more likely to be ready for England than he will be for us.

“You’ve got to remember he has had no football practice. I explained all this and I would only expect Roy to play him for a short time.”

If Rooney is fit for this week’s match against Scotland, it may mean that he will be ready to play for the beginning of the Premier League season next Saturday when United open away to Swansea, a match we now know Robin van Persie will want Rooney present at.

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