Not many Manchester United players get away with one transfer request and angling for a move to Chelsea on another occasion.

Instead of being cast out however, Wayne Rooney was given a bumper five-and-a-half-year contract conservatively estimated at £210,000-a-week at the age of 28, and later handed the captain's armband.

After much debate about what his best position is, Rooney also won the battle with Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao to become firmly established as Manchester United's unchallenged centre forward for this season.

Wayne Rooney has scored just one goal for Manchester United away from Old Trafford in 2015

The United captain has struggled to find form in front of goal so far this season

Having been given so much by the club, they really need their leader and talisman to deliver in Belgium on Wednesday night. United celebrated finishing fourth last season as an entrance back into the Champions League but it will count for nothing if they fail to defend a 3-1 first-leg lead against Club Bruges in the final play-off round.

The current statistics are pretty damning for Rooney, who is set to break both the United and England scoring records, a testimony to his longevity at the top as he approaches his milestone 30th birthday in October.

He has scored just one goal for his club away from Old Trafford in 2015 and that was in an FA Cup tie at Preston in February, and they were League One at the time.

Rooney celebrates scoring against Preston - his only goal away from Old Trafford so far this year

Rooney won the battle with Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao to become United's No 1 striker

WAYNE ROONEY'S GOAL DROUGHT LAST MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL: April 4, 2015 vs Aston Villa (Premier League) LAST MANCHESTER UNITED AWAY GOAL: February 16, 2015 vs Preston (FA Cup) LAST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GOAL: September 17, 2013 vs Bayer Leverkusen Advertisement

You have to go back until November 2014 for his previous away goal, in a smash-and-grab victory at Arsenal.

Since then, he has earned £8million from United and the club bean counters will be anxious. Rooney is under contract until 2019 and there is little prospect of another club matching his salary before then, particularly as he hasn't scored in his last 10 matches.

It is no secret that Sir Alex Ferguson would have sold Rooney had he stayed at Old Trafford and used the savings - £50m for the player's new contract and a £35m transfer fee – to regenerate his team with newer and younger stars.

It is what he did in 2003 when he sold the club's best-known player David Beckham and signed a young Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead, David Moyes used his previous relationship with Rooney at Everton to re-invigorate the player, and he decided to stay once a new contract was awarded in February 2014.

Rooney is a popular player in the United dressing-room and important in helping new signings to bed down. His versatility is a real asset to Louis van Gaal during a full campaign, he can operate well as a No 9, No 10 or even in midfield where he performed unselfishly last season.

But any prospect that he would be a world-class striker like Sergio Aguero or Luis Suarez disappeared when he injured his ankle in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich in 2010, then ironically managed by LVG.

Rooney looked relaxed as he trained with his team-mates ahead of the European clash with Club Bruges

The 29-year-old shares a joke with United new boy Memphis Depay during training on Wednesday

At that point, Rooney had enjoyed a fantastic season, taken over the mantle from Ronaldo as United's main man and was seen by many as one of the potential stars of that summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Unfortunately, his determination to return for the second leg against Bayern backfired. He came back too quickly, aggravated the injury and struggled for form and fitness at the World Cup.

Though he has won two further Premier League titles since then, even the most one-eyed Rooney fan would have to admit he's not quite been the same player.

United boss Louis van Gaal has backed his captain to find his feet in front of goal

Of course, Rooney has the talent and desire to make the difference in arguably United's biggest match since Ferguson retired.

Displaying a maturity befitting his status, Rooney has admitted: 'I understand I need to be the one who leads that line for us and try to get the goals for us.

'I’m still confident about getting 20-plus goals. I just have to keep putting myself in the right positions and hopefully one will come.

'My mind’s clear. I know how to play the role. It’s just a case of getting the chances and taking them, which I’m hopeful I’m going to do soon.'