WAYNE ROONEY will be Jose Mourinho’s first-choice striker if the Special One can tempt him to Stamford Bridge.
The unsettled England star, 27, would not
play second fiddle to anyone at Chelsea — unlike at Old Trafford, where he has
been usurped by Robin van Persie as the main man.
Playing for the Blues, Rooney would lead the
attack in Mourinho’s favoured 4-2-3-1 system, which he intends to employ for
most games next season.
He sees the forward’s pace, power and goal
threat as the perfect fit for the formation.
Only last week Mourinho was raving about the United ace.
Asked if he wanted to
sign Rooney, he said: “I’ve always told you that he’s a player I like very,
very much.
“Being fast and direct,
I like him — but he’s a Manchester United player.”
Not for long, according
to the spiralling speculation.
And Chelsea appear to
have moved ahead of Premier League rivals Arsenal and into pole position to
seal a blockbuster deal, despite United’s protests that he is “Not for sale”.
Behind Rooney, Mourinho would have three creative midfielders ready to provide
him with the ammunition to light up the Londoners’ title challenge.
It could well be
Chelsea’s famous ‘Three Amigos’ — Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar.
Equally it could be Andre
Schurrle, Kevin de Bruyne and Victor Moses.
Or any combination of
those six — and quite probably with the left-footers playing on the right and
right-footers playing on the left, so they are cutting inside and moving
towards goal on their strongest side.
And do not rule out
record goalscorer Frank Lampard, 35 last month, rampaging forward from deep to
ghost in alongside Rooney for Chelsea attacks.
But with Rooney
installed as the pivotal striker, it would mean no place for the Blues’ record
£50million signing Fernando Torres. Mourinho is not a fan of the Spaniard, who
has struggled to justify his gargantuan fee following his January 2011 move
from Liverpool.
And the Chelsea boss
would be happy to offload him if the right offer comes in.
In any case, fellow
strikers, the more powerful Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku are set to start ahead
of the Spanish World Cup winner in the pecking order.
So Torres is unlikely to
even win a place on Mourinho’s bench.
Rooney would not just be
scoring goals, he would be a regular provider too — with a wealth of options
open to him and quality players supporting him.
All that emphasis on
attack would have to be balanced, though.
And Mourinho would pick
a back four with the focus on defence.
Tough, rugged,
competitive and uncompromising.
Ashley Cole and John
Terry for sure. Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic fit the bill too.
At home, Stamford Bridge
boss Mourinho loves attacking full-backs so rising Spanish star Cesar Azpilicueta
could be favoured to mirror Cole’s rampaging runs over on the left flank.
The adventurous and
unpredictable Brazilian defender David Luiz may well struggle though.
His unreliable,
swashbuckling style of play would put him in real danger of being left out of
Mourinho’s first-choice starting XI.
He may, though, have
more chance playing in a defensive midfield role alongside Lampard.
But there are a few
candidates for that role too, such as Mourinho favourite Michael Essien — who
was with him on loan at Madrid last term — Brazil international Ramires and
new-boy Marco van Ginkel.
Chelsea youngster
Nathaniel Chalobah, the 18-year-old who spent last season on loan at
Championship play-off finalists Watford, is another contender.
The last line of defence
would be the man Mourinho calls the “best goalkeeper in the world”, Petr Cech..
sun.co.uk
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