Fergie believes Roo will get better

LONDON - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his 26-year-old striker Wayne Rooney can only get better from hereon.

When he wagered 26 million pounds on a young colt in the summer of 2004, he knew he was on to a winner.ayne Rooney was just 18 when Fergie ended a four-year pursuit for him by persuading Everton to sell. Five years later, the England striker has reached an exhilarating level of performance that has left his manager drooling, reports The Sun.

Fergie has transformed United in his 23 years at the club by bringing them unprecedented success. But his greatest legacy when he calls it a day will be Rooney.

With a new contract in the pipeline, Rooney is destined to spend at least another nine years at Old Trafford.

Fergie believes there is more excellence to come from his multi-talented forward, who has revelled in a new wide role in recent games.

The United boss said: “When we signed Wayne, it was a bargain at the time. We knew what we were getting. We had identified him a long time before that. We tried to get him at 14 and then again when he was 16.

“Eventually we had to pay that money for him. I said to him if he had joined us earlier he could have had the 26 million pounds for himself!

“Rooney keeps on showing things that are special because he has that wonderful appetite for the game. He wants to play all the time. It doesn’t matter where you ask him to play.

“He keeps saying he’s a better centre-half. But he is capable of playing anywhere in the forward positions. His performance level as a wide player has been eye-catching. He’s never said ‘I’m a centre-forward. I want to be in the box scoring goals’.

“He is now scoring goals in a different way and is doing it for the team. We have got a lot of candidates for the Footballer of the Year award but no one could argue with Wayne getting it.”

United currently have 17 domestic championships and three European crowns. And the perceived wisdom within Old Trafford is Fergie will give himself another two years to exceed those triumphs. (ANI)