Alex: we can rule with Rooney
Rooney’s arrival has given United a major lift after a stuttering start to the season that has seen them pick up just five points from their opening four games in the Premiership and fall badly adrift of pace setters Arsenal and Chelsea.
Yet Ferguson, who still has Ruud van Nistelrooy to come back from injury and Rio Ferdinand to return from suspension, remains as steadfast in the belief of his team as he was when they launched their decade-long domination of the English game in 1992.
And the arrival of Rooney, along with new team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo the most highly-rated teenagers in the world game, has fuelled Ferguson’s long-standing ambition to conquer Europe for a second time.
“There is absolutely no reason why we cannot win the Champions League,” said the United boss.
“I’m quite happy with my squad. Once we get everyone back you will see a different Manchester United. The arrival of Wayne Rooney hasn’t increased the pressure on me. It is always there because I create it myself. No-one wants to win the Championship more than I do.”
Rooney cannot have failed to be impressed by Ferguson’s naked ambition. It is that insatiable hunger and desire that ensured Rooney would end up at Old Trafford once the 18-year-old convinced himself he could be a major player on an international stage during this summer’s European Championships.
Ferguson, who first inquired about Rooney when the striker was just 14, had been given little indication that the Toffeemen were willing to sell their prized asset.
Yet, once Newcastle lodged a £20m bid last week, Ferguson knew exactly what needed to be done.
“When a player of that potential becomes available you have to be alive to the situation and do something about it,” said Ferguson. “If a player like Wayne had escaped our clutches when he is only 30 miles up the road it would have been a terrible shame for us.”
Rooney has signed a six-year contract with an immediate £10m down payment to Everton, a similar figure to follow in 12 months and a number of clauses for extra payment dependant on both United’s and the player’s continued success.
Everton have also negotiated a sell-on clause, although Ferguson clearly does not believe it will ever be required.
“I can see him spending all his professional career at this club,” he said.
“I am very excited about his arrival because he can play in a number of different positions. We saw during Euro 2004 how good he was as a striker but I think his best position will be a bit deeper and I definitely think he could operate behind two strikers.”
That news should at least allay the fears of van Nistelrooy, Alan Smith and Louis Saha.
Before the season began most pundits would have predicted Smith to be the odd man out. But the former Leeds striker has already scored three goals and is one of the few United players to have performed to their potential.
Van Nistelrooy is likely to be absent for at least another month and Rooney not due to be available for another fortnight - raising the prospect of a first team debut against Liverpool on September 20 - as he continues his recovery from a foot injury.
Ferguson does not have an immediate decision to make as he has already proved so many times since moving from Aberdeen in 1986, the Scot will not rush the development of any teenage player, no matter how much he cost and how high his profile.
“Wayne understands, as Ryan Giggs understood and Cristiano understands, we will not ask him to climb the mountain tomorrow,” he said.
“The important thing is that Wayne is a major player in five years’ time. The big danger with young players is always that you ask too much of them too quickly. We will let him mature and develop as easily as we can. It didn’t do Ryan Giggs any harm, nor the other young players of his time. We will take each step slowly and by the time Wayne reaches his mid-20’s we will have a top player.”
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